Mark 10:35 (KJV)

Passage

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

Nearby Context

Mark 10:33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

Mark 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Mark 10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

Mark 10:36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

Mark 10:37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "james", "john", "sons", "zebedee", "come", "saying", "master", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "james" and "john", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 34's "And they shall mock him and shall..." into verse 36's "And he said unto them What would...", so "james" and "john" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "james" and "john" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.