And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the Twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles [Romans] to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. (Matt. 20:17-19)

While this poignant moment was captured by three gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it is Mark’s gospel that says something about which the other two are silent. When the Lord privately told His Twelve disciples the details of His impending death, the Bible says they were amazed, and frightened (Mark 10:32).

The disciples were amazed at the courage of Jesus, and they were amazed that He could see the future so clearly.

Then, the Bible says the disciples were frightened. Perhaps the disciples had heard how determined the Lord’s enemies in Jerusalem were becoming to discredit and destroy Him. The hostility of the scribes and Pharisees toward Christ was well known. They had confronted Jesus many times only to be put to shame and made to look foolish.

It has been said that people will forgive if they are corrected, but people will never forget or forgive if they are made to feel badly. The religious leaders were determined to destroy Jesus, and the disciples were afraid.

It is terrifying to know how adamant the human heart can become, and how resolute it can be to inflict pain and suffering on someone.

Some men, women, and young people, feel a perverse sense of power when they believe they have the opportunity to control the health, wealth, or behavior of others, especially in a way that inflicts pain and suffering.

The enemies of Christ felt this sense of power when they came to believe they could silence the Lord, once and for all, by using the religious and civil courts of the land.

In the religious courts, before the Sanhedrin, a formal charge could be leveled against Jesus that He was contemplating, and teaching the destruction of the sacred Temple. Many people heard Jesus say, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up. “Jesus meant His body, but His enemies deliberately misunderstood Him so that they could one day accuse Him.

Death was the penalty for anyone who even suggested a harmful act against the Holy Temple. Once a formal charge was made against Christ, it would not be hard for the Pharisees and Sadducees to convince the civil courts of Rome that a violent Revolutionist had found His way into the hearts of the people to threaten the Pax Romana, the Roman peace. Rome would be compelled to move swiftly to deal with anyone who threatened the government. It was an act of treason to go against the will of the emperor.

From the enemies of Christ, we are reminded that evil can be very creative when it so chooses.

Evil can hide behind religion, the law, and patriotism. The English writer, Samuel Johnson, noted that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Evil has but one agenda, and that is to be like God.

In order for Evil to triumph and be like the Most High, it must find power. Evil does find power in the will that is in conflict with the wishes of the Creator. God says to His creation, “This is my Moral Law. Obey.”

Long ago in heaven, rebellious angels rose up and said to God,

“We will not obey your Moral Law.”

“We will do what we want to do!”

Leading this revolt was an arch-angel named Lucifer. He separated himself from other arch-angels, Michael (Rev. 12:7), and Gabriel (Luke 1:19, 26), who remained loyal to God. Lucifer had said to himself, “I will be like the Most High.”

Lucifer did not want to be like God in character or attitude.

Lucifer did not care about holiness, mercy, or justice.

Lucifer cared nothing about love.

What he did crave was divine power.

Lucifer wanted to have predominance and absolute authority over angels.

Lucifer wanted to exercise cosmic control.

If one wonders what a universe ruled by Lucifer would look like, the answer is found in the world.

Where there should be the sanctity of marriage, there is sexual perversion.

Where children should be protected and have fun to play, they are the objects of pedophiles, and subject to mutilation in the name of gender affirmation.

Where there should be peace, there is war.

Where there should be love, there is hatred.

Where there should be peaceful words, there is profanity.

Where there should be sharing, there is selfishness.

Where there should be respect for male and female, there is transgenderism.

Where there should be the protection of life, there is the sacrificial killing of the unborn on the altar of abortion.

Where there should be mental health, there is drug induced madness.

Where there should be liberty to speak, there is suppression and cultural cancelation.

Where there should be wisdom and spiritual understanding, the god of this world blinds the minds of those who do not believe (2 Cor. 4:4).

Lucifer wanted freedom and power to rule over a kingdom of darkness, and call it light, and his desire has been fulfilled.

Satan has been given power, which is precisely what he craves.

Two thousand years ago, the collective forces of that Old Serpent gathered for six hours of spiritual combat. The conflict of the ages was destined to take place on a little hillside outside of the Holy City called Jerusalem. Before the conflict began, the Son of Man saw the spiritual armies of darkness gathering. The storm clouds of war were building. Jesus knew that soon the hostilities would rage.

Evil would attack the Son of God.

Evil would make sure He was condemned to death.

Evil would cause men to spit upon Him.

Evil would make the human heart mock the Man of Peace and Goodness.

Evil would place the thoughts and desires into willing minds to beat the Lord of Glory until His blood soaked the ground.

God would put Himself in the hands of angry sinners. With every word spoken, with every blow delivered, with every pounding of the spikes into the flesh of Christ, Lucifer believed himself powerful and triumphant!

“I have killed You!” Evil cried out.

“Look at my power!”

“Look at my willing servants. Their name is, Legion!”

“I am like the Most High!”

Jesus knew all of this would take place.

While the disciples did not comprehend the full extent of the power of Satan or his servants in the future that they faced, they were perspective enough to know that something terrible was about to happen, and they were afraid.

The disciples would have preferred that Christ turn away from Jerusalem and remove Himself from harm’s way. They would have preferred that Jesus no longer provoke His enemies. But Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem like a flint. There was no turning back.

It is to the disciple’s eternal credit they themselves did not leave at this time. Despite their fears, they did not leave Jesus. Many other people left Christ, but the Twelve stayed.

So many others had forsaken Him that the Lord turned one day to His disciples and asked them, “Will you too go away?”

To his eternal credit Peter was the first to say, “No Lord. We will not go away. For You alone have the words of eternal life. You alone are the Son of the Living God.”

Since the disciples were not going to leave the Lord alone, Jesus would comfort them, and help them face the future in two ways.

First, Christ told the disciples specifically what would happen. The Son of Man was going to face a violent future, filled with humiliation and shame. Ironically, there is some comfort in knowing what is going to happen.

Second, Jesus told the Twelve the Son of Man would be ultimately victorious, because on the third day He would rise again from the dead. There was going a resurrection from the dead. At this time, the disciples did not fully comprehend what Jesus meant by His words. Their understanding was still sluggish, which reminds us that it is possible to hear the truth, and not appreciate its meaning.

The human mind needs spiritual illumination in addition to factual information. Human knowledge is not enough.

Because of their spiritual innocence, it was important for the Lord to prepare His disciples to face their future. Jesus was trying to help them confront the events to come without a spirit of fear.

We fast forward in the biblical narrative for just a moment. We know that initially the disciples did become afraid when the Lord’s prophetic words began to occur. When the religious leaders decided to implement their plan of a Final Solution against Jesus, the Twelve became terrified and fled into the night. Jesus was left alone.  

Fortunately, with the vantage point of time, we know that eventually the Twelve did learn to live life without fear  as the Spirit gave them faith and courage.

The time did come when the disciples set aside their personal safety to tell the world that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

The day did come when Peter stood in the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the gospel of redeeming love, having preached a sermon that cut people to the heart with conviction. Boldly did Peter say to the Lord’s murderers, “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Saviour.”

The time did come when Matthew wrote a narrative for all the world to see how the Scribes and Pharisees plotted together to kill the Christ.

The time did come when James, the brother of Jesus, presided over the church in Jerusalem.

The time did come when the disciples of Christ faced their futures without fear.

All this was going to be possible because

The disciples had Christ for an Example.

As an Example, Christ faced the future realistically. The Lord knew that specific things would happen, and He did not pretend that they were not going to happen. Jesus knew what the prophets of old had said about the suffering Messiah, and He knew that prophecy had to be fulfilled.

As an Example, Jesus accepted the reality of what was going to happen. He did not deny anything.

He did not hope against hope. Jesus accepted the will of the Father, and submitted Himself to the things that pleased the Father.

As an Example, the Lord did not forget the promises of His Father. It was the promise of the Father that He would raise His Son from the dead on the third day. Jesus had to believe that. Just as you and I must have faith in God the Father, so Jesus, in His humanity, also had to express His own faith. And He did. In all these things the Lord is our example of how to face the future.

The disciples had the Holy Spirit for a Comforter.

The disciples had the promises of God to believe in.

As the disciples had these gifts of grace, so do we.

This is the teaching of the Lord.