Mark 10:32-34 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
Just after telling his disciples that in the age to come they would have eternal life, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and leads his followers to his cross of suffering and death. The Bible tells us his disciples were astonished and the others who followed him were full of fear. Why would Jesus go to Jerusalem where He knew his enemies waited to capture and possibly destroy him? Sensing their anxieties and doubts, Jesus once again explains his purpose for walking this earth is to offer himself as a sacrifice. He has mentioned these truths previously, but they do not have ears to hear his meaning. Earlier after Jesus asked his disciples who men said He was and then who they thought He was, and Peter said He was the Christ, Jesus uses words quite similar to those in today's passage: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. Rather than understanding Jesus' statement, Peter rebukes Jesus, and his Lord says, “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:31 & 33) In this previous instance and in the event we witness today, the disciples were not ready to hear that Jesus was going to face a painful death, and they did not understand the meaning involved in his resurrection from the dead. They were looking for an earthly king, not one who was to die.
If Jesus' disciples had fully understood his words and what He was describing when he spoke of his death and his resurrection, they would have reacted differently. They would have confessed their loyalty to him and their obedience to God's will. They would have looked for ways to support him on this journey. They would have praised God for a Son who came to die for their sins, but they did not yet understand they were in the presence of the Messiah, the Anointed and Holy One, come from the Father to redeem a fallen people from bondage to sin and shame. Had the followers of Jesus known what Jesus meant when He described the events ahead of him, they would have looked to the cross with new eyes of faith, looking to a Savior who would bring them to the Father and bridge the awful gulf of sin that separated them from true fellowship with their God. There were many clues along the way to the identity of Jesus and the purpose for his life. When John the Baptist saw Jesus pass by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” A lamb is clearly a sin offering. After hearing John's words, Andrew goes to his brother Simon and tells him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:35 & 41) Andrew and Simon come to Jesus, and Jesus renames Simon, Peter. The disciples saw many signs and wonders throughout Jesus' ministry: they walked, talked, ate, and slept with him. Yet many times, Jesus said to them: “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:21) He said that they had eyes but they did not see; they had ears but they did not hear. This is the problem of the unredeemed: we are not tuned in to spiritual realities. We think we understand the plans of God, but we are often far from the perfect will of our heavenly Father.
As we continue our study we will see that rather than picking up on what Jesus is teaching them, James and John completely dismiss what Jesus has just said to them, and they ask him, if He will do whatever they ask him to do. We see men who should be deeply touched by what their close friend and spiritual leader has just revealed to them, looking to their own situation and their own best interests. It is rather like someone saying, "I just found out I have terminal cancer and have only a few weeks to live," and the friend they are speaking with says, "Then I hope you won't mind helping me paint my house like you promised before you get too sick." James and John are making sure they get what they want from Jesus. They seemingly are not concerned that Jesus has just said when He reaches Jerusalem, They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Most important to them is that He grant their wish to sit at his right and his left in his glory. Set the humiliation, pain, and suffering aside, Jesus; just give us what we want. The Lord so often has to be patient with us, AND HE IS! He is patient because He loves us. In the NIV version of the Bible, we read that God is slow to anger nine times in the Old Testament. Most of those verses read like this one: But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. (Psalm 86:15) We praise God today that the steadfast love of the Lord never changes and his mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. We thank Jesus today that his words were true when He spoke them to his disciples so long ago, and his words are true when He speaks them to us today. He says, "My child, I love you. You are precious to me. I have chosen you. I have work for you to do. You are strong in my strength. Rejoice and be glad. I overcame death and the grave for you!" Yes, brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!
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