They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear.
Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”
Strange Jo
urneySomething about Jesus struck awe into his disciples and fear into those who traveled toward Jerusalem with them. Jesus had just turned another assumption on its head. If anyone was important, had it made, impressed God, surely it would be the rich. Wealth was a sign of God’s blessings, and no wonder, the rich man we met yesterday had excelled at obeying the 10 Commandments.
But Jesus insisted that the rich have an especially difficult time entering the kingdom of God because wealth easily distracts from life’s most important issues and distorts true priorities. This encounter may have elicited some surprise, even worry (if the rich have a hard time making it, what about me?!). But I think there is more.
Jesus walks on ahead of everyone else. Is his pace that much faster? Has he ever traveled with such haste or determination? Are there signs in his facial expression that betray intense inner feelings? Jesus certainly knew what he was getting into and, aware of his disciples’ wonderment, pulls them off the road and explains. The coming verses reveal they don’t get it.
I know what that’s like; to be puzzled by Jesus. I’ve been awed by the audacity and strangeness of his words, unsure what exactly they mean or the implications for my own life as his follower. His disciples painted four pictures of him in the Gospels. I’ve stared at those portraits many times. I’ve watched him act and react. And I still find myself walking many paces behind him wondering, sometimes in awe, other times in fear, what exactly is going on in that mind of his.
Still I follow, be it clueless or enlightened.
Jesus, you may be heading toward Jerusalem where I will display my incredible weakness and faithlessness, or you be heading toward a town where we’ll perform miracles together. Wherever you head, I’m coming with you. Thanks for inviting me along. - Mike Leamon
Tortured to Death
Torture has been in the news a lot recently. From the prison scandal of Abu Ghraib to the congressional hearings on water boarding the issue has been a top ten news item for over a year. Torture is gruesome and barbaric. It debases the individual being tortured to that of less than a living animal. It sickens us to think of our soldiers participating in such heinous acts and we are rightly outraged. Torturing people should have no place in the mindset of the Christian.
In Jesus’ day torture was as much a part of public life as driving by prisons is in our society. Crucifixion was the favored form of death by torture followed closely by severe beatings with whips and clubs as a form of close to death public punishment. The Romans had perfected crucifixion to maximize the agony of death and prolong the public display of humiliation and degradation.
When Jesus spoke to his disciples about their trip to Jerusalem, he was not planning a speaking tour or a vacation. Jesus was heading towards his death, his humiliation and suffering. With shockingly raw language Jesus paints a picture for the disciples who are in awe of what has been happening. They are benign to the purpose of their trip while simultaneously mystified and awed. Despite their inability to comprehend what is coming, Jesus marches steadily towards his God-given purpose. Jesus is in the lead, the entranced disciples following along with the confused crowd overwhelmed with fear bringing up the rear.
It is fitting this passage falls on Maundy Thursday. The day we remember the beginning of the tortures Jesus endured for our salvation. Hopefully we will be more reflective than the disciples.
Jesus, when I think upon your sacrifice I am humbled by your mercy and I’m broken inside by the knowledge my sin caused you to suffer. Thank you for taking my place, for receiving the wrath of God so I am given grace and mercy. - Dan Jones
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