SALOME.
“Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
Name: Salome “peaceable”).
Main contribution: She was the mother of Jesus’ disciples James and John.
While she is not mentioned often, Salome had known Jesus from the beginning of His public ministry.
“When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him” Mark 1:19-20.
After Jesus’ baptism, He had spent time in
Jesus was a familiar figure in the home of Peter and Zebedee, and Salome would have known the young Teacher from nearby Nazareth through her two sons. Undoubtedly Jesus had visited Zebedee’s home and eaten there with His friends.
Mark 15:41 lists Salome as one of the women who had become His followers in Galilee and who had “ministered to him” there.
C. Salome’s attempt to influence Jesus Matthew 20:20-24.
“Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
While we can assume that Salome continued to follow Jesus and help support His ministry, the next time she is mentioned is in Matthew 20:20–23. It was late in Jesus’ ministry, and that Passover at which Jesus would be crucified was drawing all too near.
It is important that Salome felt comfortable making this request for her sons. She had followed Jesus faithfully, and she knew that He would listen to her. But when Jesus responded, He spoke to the two disciples, not their mother. She had asked, but they had put her up to it.
Jesus turned down Salome’s request, but when the other disciples heard about it, they were angry with the two brothers, not with her. Most likely they knew Salome well, and they realized she would not think of trying to gain an advantage for her sons if they had not urged her.
“Among who were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons” Matthew 27:56.
The text places Salome at the cross with the other women who were Jesus’ most faithful follows. Salome was also among those who carried spices to the garden tomb that first Easter morning only to discover that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
And so Salome was one of those disciples who had followed Jesus from the beginning and who continued with Him to the end.
Aside from the occasion on which Salome interceded with Jesus on behalf of her sons, we do not see them together. At first we might read her request as the typical attempt of a doting mother to gain an advantage for her sons, but then we see the reaction of Jesus and His other disciples. They were not upset with the mother but with the two sons.
Salome loved her sons and did as they asked. She surely would have been delighted had Jesus agreed, but her identity was not linked to the advancement of her sons. She was too much a follower of Jesus to think of taking their part unfairly by herself.
Salome was not a leader; the leader of the little band of women was Mary Magdalene. Salome was a faithful follower, possibly a little older than the others, trusted by the women and by the Twelve as well.
We can conclude that she was trusted by the men for the simple reason that when “the ten heard” of Salome’s request, “They were greatly displeased with the two brothers” Matthew 20:24. Salome’s request on behalf of her sons was so out of character that all immediately recognized the hand of James and John.
