Mark 10:32-34

Rachel Workman:

³² 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. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” 

Some were astonished while others were afraid. It seems like Jesus has a way of bringing out mixed emotions in all of us. It's very easy for us to judge the disciples when we have the complete story of Christ. The disciples did not. Although everyone was expecting The Messiah they still weren't sure what to expect. And Jesus wasn't what anyone expected.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ³² 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. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”  He predicts His death three times and it happens exactly how He predicts it would.  My sin, by proxy puts me there on the Via Dolorosa mocking and spitting on him and as Martin Luther said, “His nails are in my pocket.”  The nails that I deserved, He took willingly because of His love for all

____________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:  ³² 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. ³³ “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Jesus’ death and resurrection should have come as no surprise to the disciples. Here he clearly explained to them what would happen to him. Unfortunately, they didn’t really hear what he was saying. Jesus said he was the Messiah, but they thought the Messiah would be a conquering king. I think they wanted so badly for Jesus to be the king that would save them, that they never really focused on what Jesus was really telling them. Had Jesus turned out to be their “Conquering King” we would have no hope for redemption or salvation today. From that point in time, until now, everybody would be facing eternity in Hell. Even though Jesus spoke to them of resurrection, they heard only of his words about death. The Gospels include Jesus’ predictions of his death and resurrection to show that these events were God’s plan from the beginning and not accidents. Even the Old Testament referrers to Christ’s death and resurrection; books like Zechariah 12; Psalms 16, 22, and 40; Isaiah 15, 52, and 53; Job 19. It’s even mentioned in the New Testament book of Revelation 13. This is going to happen just as God says it will. As Christians this is our Mystery of Faith: Christ had died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow's reading for Mark 10:35-40

³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.”’^[h]

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

The large crowd listened to him with delight.
³⁸ As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”