saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
On the road up to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the twelve disciples aside. He tells them in plain detail what waits for Him there: betrayal to the religious leaders, a death sentence, and a handover to the Roman rulers. Why does He walk straight into it? And why do the men following Him hear it all and still miss it?
Ahead of them on the road
He led the way. The fear of the men behind Him did not change His pace or His care for them.
J. N. DarbyThey were astonished at how He could lead them on like this. He was walking straight to the very destruction He had announced... But the Lord went calmly and peacefully straight on. He knew why, and where, and to what end He was going. With patient determination of love and obedience, He set His face to go there. Seeing their terror and knowing their condition, the Lord speaks openly to them about it all. He does not leave them in their fright, but calmly explains everything that was coming.
Jerusalem, and the grace of "we"
Jerusalem was not a random destination. And notice that He does not say "I go up," but joins the twelve to Himself in the journey.
William KellyThe Lord then goes on to Jerusalem, that fatal spot for the true prophet. The religious capital is the very place where the true witnesses of God's grace must die... And He took the twelve again, and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, "See, we are going up" (how gracious! not only "I," but "we," go up) "to Jerusalem."
No detail unforeseen
He did not stumble into any of this. He listed each stage in advance, knowing what it would cost Him.
Numerical Bible NotesHe takes the twelve aside to tell them again what He wanted them to grasp about Himself. None of it was unforeseen. It was the very thing He had come for, and had given Himself to. He knew every bitter ingredient in the cup He was going to drink. He knew the betrayal, and the condemnation by the leaders of the people — His own people. He knew their handing Him over to the Gentiles, the mockery, the scourging, the crucifixion.
Handed from one set of hands to another
The verse splits the guilt in two. Israel's own leaders pass the sentence; the Gentile power carries it out.
J. N. DarbySo ends the story of the Son of Man among men. His own people were the first to condemn Him. The Gentiles, by their indifference, were ready to complete the terrible act of the Saviour's rejection in this world. The people of God, the Jews, joined with sinful man to cast out the Son of God, who had come down here in grace.
Every part of it happened. The chief priests condemned Him, then passed Him on to Rome.
C. E. StuartAll was foreknown by Him. All that He said came, as we know, to pass. We have already read how part of this prediction came true. He had been betrayed to the chief priests and scribes. They had condemned Him to death. And now they handed Him over to the civil power to deal with, as one who opposed the rights of Caesar.
The only road to glory
The cross was not only His own end. It was the one road by which anyone else can live.
W. T. P. WolstonIf you and I are to live, Christ, the holy man, over whom death had no claim, must go into death. Here He explains it in the clearest possible way. There is no way into the glory of God except through His own death. There is no way to get eternal life but through His death. If we are to have eternal life, it is not by any doing on our part. It is by His dying.
Shame and glory
They heard Him and still missed it. Two of the twelve heard this announcement and then asked Him for places of honour.
Samuel RidoutHe speaks plainly to them, but still they do not understand: while He speaks of His shame, they speak of their glory. James and John make their request right at this point. It is a sad fact. We can think about a place of honour for ourselves while He has no place but humiliation and suffering.
Summary
- Known — He named the betrayal, the sentence and the handover before they happened. Nothing took Him by surprise.
- Chosen — He walked in front of frightened men, straight toward what He had described. He explained it instead of hiding it.
- Shared — He said "we go up," joining His disciples to the journey rather than leaving them behind.
- Universal — His own leaders condemned Him. The Gentile power carried out the sentence. Both had a hand in casting Him out.
- Necessary — This road was the only way into the glory of God. Eternal life comes by His dying, not by our doing.