mark 10:32-34 :: Jesus again predicts His death

what a strange mix of emotions the disciples must be going through here. Jesus is approaching Jerusalem, a crowd trailing behind Him, His disciples at HIs heels and He turns to them and tells them He needs to talk to them in private. They must be thinking that the ball is getting ready to drop. Jesus is getting ready to rally the troops, as it were, and make His move on Jerusalem.

but before He does this, He reminds them about what is getting ready to happen. it is almost like getting ready to walk into disneyland for the first time, all psyched up about meeting mickey and goofy, but dad stops you at the gate and says, “hey junior, just so you know…mickey is really a college student dressed in a costume. none of these guys are real. just wanted you to know.”

dad isn’t trying to be mean here, he’s just setting a dose of reality on you so you don’t go crazy nuts when mickey turns out to be bigger then you and goofy looms over dad. they were never that big on tv and seeing a giant mouse might freak you out a little, so he wants you to be prepared, even at the expense of taking a little of the mystique away.

Jesus wants His disciples to be grounded in reality when He makes His entry into Jerusalem. no saying things they shouldn’t no raising a ruckus in places they shouldn’t and no huge egos getting in the way.

Jesus reminds them that His death is imminant, and that what is getting ready to happen wil not be easy or enjoyable even though things may appear differently at first. But he still let’s them know that even though things will indeed be rough, there is a silver lining. even after everything happens, He will still come out on top after the jewish religious leaders and romans do their worst.

fantastic things and terrible things are getting ready to happen, and He cares enough about them to help guide them through what is getting ready to happen.

we can see this talk as coming toward us as well. Jesus speaks to us and says, look, you are indeed with Me, you are on my side, but you need to know a few things about what is going to happen because you are with Me. things will get rough, and yo umay feel like you cannot make it through. but you need to know that in the end, we will emerge victorious despite the nastiness and violence about to occur. we will overcome all this, but you must be patient and stay level headed.

Jesus will guide us through, just as He did for the disciples. we just need to trust that what He says is faithful and true, even if it doesn’t make sense to us at the moment. things will pan out, and we will be able to see where He was leading us, and that He was with us the whole time.