Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him…
Mk 10:32
On the surface, nothing particularly exciting seems to be happening in our text above, so why do we read that the disciples “were amazed”? The first part of the verse holds the key. Look at their destination. They were following the Lord to Jerusalem. Earlier in Mk 8:31, Jesus had told them that He “must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” If you remember, Peter rebuked Him right after this statement, in essence telling Jesus, “Don’t talk like that!” But it was true. The Jewish leaders hated Jesus and wanted Him dead.
“But, wait Lord! Jerusalem is where the Jewish leaders live. Surely, you don’t mean to go there! They’re plotting to kill you! They’ll be waiting for you!” I wonder if the disciples kept expecting Jesus to take the fork in the road the led away from Jerusalem. But with every step, it became clearer to them that their Lord would not turn aside. It must have been amazing to watch! Jesus wasn’t hesitant. We read He “was going before them.” He was leading the way! It’s as if they had to quicken their pace just to keep up! The Lord didn’t fear this destination. He desired it!
So, as they witnessed His resolve, as they saw He would not be deterred, their amazement gave way to fear. Perhaps they thought, “Maybe He doesn’t realize what they’ll do to Him in Jerusalem. Maybe He doesn’t understand just how bad it’s going to be.” Jesus removed all doubt concerning such thoughts in His next statement in Mk 10:33,34:
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
He understood fully what awaited Him, and yet He pressed on. We would have veered off the path long before! If we had only known mocking awaited us, we would have stayed home. Yet, mocking, scourging, spitting, and ultimately death could not make Him hesitate. And not just any death either! “…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Ph 2:8) What would motivate the Lord of glory to willingly suffer to such a degree? You, church!
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:6-8)
God, help us to maintain our amazement! I pray this story, though familiar, will never lose its luster! We will never know any greater love than this…
“Amazing love, how can it be?
That Thou, my God, would die for me!”
Jamie