Again Tells Of Death, Resurrection Series

-AD 29-

Galilee

Lesson: Again Tells of Death, Resurrection

Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-32, Luke 9:43-45

-Matthew-

Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.-Matthew 9:22-23

This is the third time that the Lord has told His disciples that He would die and be raised from the dead. The first time is recorded in Matthew 16:21, “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day..” This made them exceedingly sorrowful or “greatly distressed.” They were so shocked by His announcement of His death that His resurrection didn’t even register in their minds. They should have been happy that He was going to be raised up at the resurrection; instead, they were depressed. He knows all things; He knew He would be betrayed and killed. But He never strayed off course on His way to the cross, which speaks well of His love of mankind.

Notice that it says, He shall be delivered up ( or betrayed into the hands of men): His Father delivered Him up by his determined counsel and fore-knowledge. That is the thought behind Acts 2:23, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;” and Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

The passage says that He will be delivered into the hands of men. That refers to Judas’ betraying Him into the hands of the priests, and their betraying Him into the hands of the Romans.

-Mark-

Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.-Mark 9:30-32

This time, Jesus passed through Galilee more rapidly than usual, and he didn’t want anyone to know that He was in the area. Perhaps the secrecy was due to the people’s rejection of Him, despite all the miracles He had done there. Another explanation may be that the time of His suffering and death was drawing near, so He wanted to use this time to talk with His disciples and to prepare them for the trials to come. He told them on this occasion, that He would be delivered into the hands of men, and that they would kill Him. When He talked about His death, He always spoke of His resurrection, which should have removed the distress they felt over His impending death. His words were plain enough, but they refused to acknowledge that “after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” Either they didn’t understand it, or they were afraid to talk about it, because they didn’t want to know the truth.

-Luke-

And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.-Luke 9:43-45

For the second time in a month, Jesus clearly predicted His coming death in Jerusalem, but the disciples didn’t understand. They could not fit a crucified King into the kingdom plans which they were all so busily announcing to the people in every town and city. In fact, it was not until after the resurrection that they even began to understand how Christ’s death fit into God’s plan. The kingdom was to be postponed due to the Jewish rejection of Christ, and the church age was to be born, and it will last until the Rapture.

Notice the impression that Christ’s miracles made on everyone who saw them: They were all amazed at the mighty power of God. In fact, they were in awe of all the things which Jesus did.

Jesus warned His disciples about His coming death; He said that He would be delivered into the hands of wicked men who would abuse Him and kill Him. This was too hard for them to bear, so they did not question Him, they just let it drop, even though He had said, “Let these words sink down into your ears.”