Mark 10:32-34
32They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and 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; 34they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”
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For the third time in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks his disciples to embrace some difficult truths in foretelling His death and resurrection. The twelve “were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.” It’s likely they still did not understand, nor did they want to understand, that particular message. “He couldn’t really mean what He seems to be saying, could He?” they might have asked each other. As Jesus often spoke in parables, I suspect they were inclined to assume He was again communicating some hidden truth. They were not looking for a messiah who would be a suffering servant; they expected a messiah who would overthrow the Romans and physically sit on David’s throne. Two verses later, James and John even requested, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Shortly thereafter comes Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and likely all the apostles’ thoughts of mocking, spitting, flogging, and killing were forgotten in favor of their preferred narrative. We probably prefer Jesus’ many words of comfort and joy. But Jesus also requests we embrace some difficult truths in following him. When these conflict with our preferred narrative, where shall we seek the strength to respond?
Prayer: Lord, strengthen us for your service and grant us your peace. Amen
—Marc Hanson