Mark 10:36 (WEB)

Passage

He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Nearby Context

Mark 10:34 They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

Mark 10:35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”

Mark 10:36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Mark 10:37 They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left hand, in your glory.”

Mark 10:38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said" and "want". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "want", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "James and John the sons of Zebedee..." into verse 37's "They said to him Grant to us...", so "said" and "want" 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 "said" and "want" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.