Q: In Matthew 20:23, Jesus informs James and John that the privilege to sit on Jesus right hand and left hand is not mine to give. But later, in Matthew 28:18, Jesus says "all power is given to me in heaven." Isnt this a contradiction?
A: No; one just needs to understand the meaning of a couple of words. First, the word rendered as power in the KJV means authority -- the power of a king, rather than the power of a charging elephant. Second, consider the word later ~ a lot happened in the time between these two incidents, including Jesus death and resurrection. During Jesus earthly ministy, His role was subservient to the Father -- thus He could say in the Garden of Gethsemane, Not My will but Thine be done. But after the resurrection, this seems not to be the case; His authority and will were restored to full unity with the Fathers authority and will. Thus, in Matthew 20:23, /before/ Jesus death and resurrection, He submitted to the decrees preordained by the Father; /after/ His death and resurrection, it was not a matter of submission but of co-willing, so to speak, those decrees.
So this is not a contradiction; the different circumstances yield different responses. Suppose Trinity Bank had three Co-Presidents, and one of them temporarily stepped down to serve as a teller. As a teller, he wouldn't have any more authority than what two Bank Presidents gave him. But things would be different, in terms of roles and authority-limits, when he again took his seat as Co-President.
Had James and John made their request to Jesus after His resurrection, I still dont think He wouldve said Sure; the seats are now yours, but the rest of His answer would have been different -- more like, The Father and I have already reserved those seats for others.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
A: No; one just needs to understand the meaning of a couple of words. First, the word rendered as power in the KJV means authority -- the power of a king, rather than the power of a charging elephant. Second, consider the word later ~ a lot happened in the time between these two incidents, including Jesus death and resurrection. During Jesus earthly ministy, His role was subservient to the Father -- thus He could say in the Garden of Gethsemane, Not My will but Thine be done. But after the resurrection, this seems not to be the case; His authority and will were restored to full unity with the Fathers authority and will. Thus, in Matthew 20:23, /before/ Jesus death and resurrection, He submitted to the decrees preordained by the Father; /after/ His death and resurrection, it was not a matter of submission but of co-willing, so to speak, those decrees.
So this is not a contradiction; the different circumstances yield different responses. Suppose Trinity Bank had three Co-Presidents, and one of them temporarily stepped down to serve as a teller. As a teller, he wouldn't have any more authority than what two Bank Presidents gave him. But things would be different, in terms of roles and authority-limits, when he again took his seat as Co-President.
Had James and John made their request to Jesus after His resurrection, I still dont think He wouldve said Sure; the seats are now yours, but the rest of His answer would have been different -- more like, The Father and I have already reserved those seats for others.
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
