Near Jordan
Foretells His Death and Resurrection (Third Prediction)
(Ps. 22) Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:32-34, Luke 18:31-34
Peter had called Jesus’ attention to the sacrifice he and the other disciples had made. Just three verses earlier we read, “Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.” Now, Jesus rivets the attention of the group on the infinitely greater sacrifice He is about to make.
31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
It is becoming clear that Jesus is coming to the end of His ministry and His life. Matters are becoming more serious now. So, in order to impress upon His disciples the gravity of the events that are about to take place, Jesus takes the Twelve aside. He tells them, “We are going up to Jerusalem.”
“Going up to Jerusalem,” could have meant a couple of things. First, it didn’t make any difference from which direction you approached Jerusalem, it was all up hill. Or second, God’s temple was in Jerusalem. People went there to celebrate the feast days and to worship, and that included bringing their offerings. Jesus, too, is now “going up to Jerusalem” to offer Himself for the “sins of the world.”
Now that He has the disciples alone, He makes a very important announcement. He begins with the directive “behold,” which here means “listen.” He tells them that this is the beginning of the end of the road.
He adds that everything that was written in the past with reference to the Son of Man will be fulfilled and it will become evident that His life was part of God’s plan for our salvation.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Jesus made many predictions of His pending suffering, death, and resurrection, but the three main ones are here in this passage, in Matthew 20:17-19, and in Mark 10:32-34. Luke lists seven items in the passage before us that we know were fulfilled at His trial and crucifixion. These seven are:
1. The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and scribes,
2. They will condemn Him to death,
3. And will hand Him over to the Gentiles’
4. Who will mock Him, spit upon Him,
5. Scourge Him,
6. And kill Him.
7. Three days later He will rise again.
The horror of all of this must have been very real and terrifying. Jesus can see all these things coming toward Him. He already senses the treachery, the hypocrisy, the calamity, the mockery, the pain, and the shame which like an avalanche threatens to overcome Him. Yet He doesn’t retreat or stand still. With an unflinching determination, He walks right into it, for He knows that this is necessary in order to save his people. John 13:1 tells us, “Having loved His own…He loved them to the uttermost.”
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
The Twelve didn’t understand this prediction, even though our Lord couldn’t spell it out any clearer than this—He gave great detail—exactly what was going to happen to Him. Some how or another His disciples didn’t comprehend it—it just didn’t fit into their program. However, as you and I can see it now, from our position of 2100 years after the Cross, it was Christ’s avowed intention to go to Jerusalem to die. Just think about the significance of this. He went there deliberately to die for you and for me. That is something to think about, but the disciples of Jesus just couldn’t believe it.
