On The Road To Jerusalem Series

Introduction:

A. If you would humor me, I’d like to start with a little bit of “road” humor.

1. Why did the chicken cross the road? I don’t know, why? I don’t know—I asked you first!

2. What do you call a chicken crossing the road? Answer: Poultry in motion.

3. Why did the bubblegum cross the road? Answer: Because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.

4. Why did the rubber chicken cross the road? Answer: She wanted to stretch her legs.

5. Why did the clown cross the road? Answer: To get his rubber chicken!

6. Why did the fox cross the road? Answer: To look for the chicken.

7 So, If you’re on a hike and find a fork in the road, what do you do? Answer: Stop for lunch.

B. Most of us are familiar with Robert Frost’s famous poem called “A Road Less Traveled.”

1. In that poem, Frost describes two roads: one that is well-worn by much use and the other that “was grassy and wanted wear.”

2. The person in the poem took the road less traveled and it made all the difference.

C. As we explore today’s section from the Gospel of Mark, we will see that Jesus was traveling on the road to Jerusalem.

1. Jesus was on a physical road that had been traveled on by millions of people for centuries, but symbolically, He was forging a new path that had never been traveled by anyone before.

2. But since Jesus first blazed that new spiritual road, it continues to be the road less traveled.

3. Yet, Jesus calls you and me to follow Him, to walk in His steps down the road less traveled.

D. Today, as we walk with Jesus as He headed toward Jerusalem, we will be taught several important lessons about following Jesus on the road to Jerusalm – the road less-traveled.

I. Jesus’ Prediction (Mk. 10:32-34)

A. Mark began this section with the words: 32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. (Mk. 10:32a)

1. Aren’t you amazed by the way the Holy Spirit inspired Mark to reveal the life of Jesus with such vivid images and deep emotions?

2. Almost as a matter of fact, Mark informs us that Jesus, along with His disciples and a crowd of followers, were on the road heading toward Jerusalem.

3. Can you picture the procession? Jesus was in the lead, followed by His disciples and the crowd.

4. Nothing seems unusual about the scene – I’m sure Jesus often walked ahead of the crowd.

5. Yet, there must have been something special about the way Jesus was walking ahead of them that day.

6. Mark reports that the disciples were astonished and those who followed him were afraid.

7. Jesus’ disciples and the crowd with Him knew where He was going and knew why He was going there – that’s why some were amazed and others were fearful.

8. There must have been something about the way Jesus was walking ahead of them that day that communicated determination and resolve, courage and calmness.

9. Knowing that He was heading toward suffering and death didn’t weigh Him down, His steps didn’t become heavy, He didn’t fall behind the crowd, and didn’t have to be dragged along.

B. Then Mark tells us: Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. 33 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.” (Mk. 10:32b-34)

1. This is the 3rd time in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus has predicted His death and resurrection.

2. Jesus’ first prediction came in Mark 8 and He simply said that he would be rejected, killed, and raised on the third day.

3. Jesus’ second prediction came in Mark 9 and there He added that this would all be the result of a betrayal.

4. In this third prediction, all the details were now communicated: It will take place in Jerusalem, He will be betrayed, condemned by the Sanhedrin, transferred to a Roman court, be subjected to mocking, spitting, and scourging, then be crucified and then resurrected on the 3rd day.

5. For a Jew, the ultimate disgrace was to be rejected by your own people and then to be humiliated by the Gentiles.

C. Thankfully, none of us will ever face all that Jesus faced in His “Jerusalem,” but as we follow Jesus, all of us will have to face a “Jerusalem” of our own.