Jesus and his disciples, traveling south, passed through Perea on the east side of the Jordan River, turned west, crossed the Jordan River, and entered the northernmost part of the Judean Desert as they approached Jericho (17:11, 18:35) while on their way to Jerusalem for the Passover. This is where John the Baptist had baptized Jesus and publicly declared about Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (3:1-3, 21-4:1, Mark 1:4, 9; Matthew 3:1, 13; John 1:15, 29-36)
Jesus, perhaps remembering John’s words over three years earlier, took the time to tell his disciples what would happen to him in Jerusalem. “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” (31-33)
Jesus knew what was going to happen. Yet, he did not turn away. Instead, he thought of his disciples. He prepared them. But they did not understand. The meaning was hidden because they held onto someone else’s teaching about the Messiah.
What would I do if I knew my future and that future included pain, suffering, and crucifixion? Would I think of others? Though I may not know details about what is going to happen, sometimes I can deduce that the coming days, weeks, and months will not be pleasant. For example, loss of a job, moving, illness, and the death of a loved one will mean hardship. It is times like these that I especially should be thinking of others and what I can do to help them, just like Jesus did.
