17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
The crescendo rises like an ominous dirge, building toward the dire climax. Jesus was now ready to go to Jerusalem (always considered “up” from anywhere in Israel, not only for being on the highest mountain in the area, but also considered the place of God’s special presence). He prepped His disciples with a repetition of what He had already told them (see 16:21).
Four things, all in sequence, would happen (Jesus referring to Himself using the frequent self-description, “the Son of Man”). First, He would be betrayed to the ruling authorities. The writer has already identified for us the agent of this impending treachery, namely Judas, one of the twelve (10:25).
Second, the rulers were going to “condemn Him to death.” The disciples knew there were conflicting attitudes toward Jesus, but never did they think it would ever come to that. Jesus was the promised Messiah who would re-establish the Jewish kingdom to the prominence and glory it had under King David. To the disciples, death could only mean utter and complete failure. That was not an option! They had gone out on the spiritual limb declaring Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (16:16).
Third, Jesus would be mocked and crucified at the hands of the Gentiles. This would be the worst kind of death. The Law said, “He who is hanged is accursed of God…” (Deut 21:23). Though the word “cross” is not mentioned in that passage, the author of the book of Acts 5:30 (Luke) connected this to the crucifixion when he wrote that Jesus was killed by “hanging Him on a cross” (emphasis added). Paul applied this to the Lord’s death, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ ” (Gal 3:13). Death by crucifixion was a sure sign of judgment from God.
Finally, to add insult to injury, His death would be at the hand of the Gentiles. As it turned out, the Jews convinced their Roman overlords to crucify Him. The disciples must have been completely overwhelmed by the nightmare scenario that Jesus painted.
Lord, like the disciples, I sometimes can’t comprehend how Your glory will be made known, when things around me seem to be such a mess. Help my unbelief.
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