686. Post of Honor

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 8
Listen from:
Matthew 20:21. Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
See also Mark 10:37.
It was evidently the intention of this ambitious mother to have positions of the greatest honor for her two sons. The right hand is usually considered the post of the highest honor. See 1 Kings 2:19; Psalm 45:9; 80:17. For this reason Jesus is said to be at the right hand of God. See Psalm 110:1; Mark 14:62; 16:19; Luke 20:42; 22:69; Acts 2:34; 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet 3:22. As an apparent exception to this usage, Sir John Chardin states that among the Persians the left hand of the king is esteemed the most honorable. See Coronation of Solyman III., p. 42. In the East generally, although the right hand may be esteemed more honorable than the left, yet a position on either hand near the king is considered a post of great honor. Josephus represents Saul at supper with Jonathan his son on his right hand, and Abner the captain of his host on his left (Antiquities, book 6, chap. 2; ยง 9). The same fact is intimated, though not expressed, in 1 Samuel 20:25. In the Sanhedrin the vice president sat on the right band of the president, and the referee, who was the officer next in rank, sat on the left. See note on Matthew 26:59 (#718).