“They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them . . . He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; . . . they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.”
Mark 10:32-34
These verses from the Gospel of Mark bring us into a very important juncture in Jesus’ ministry. For three years, he had been traveling throughout Galilee and Judea teaching, preaching, and healing the people who came out in ever-increasing numbers. He had called twelve disciples who accompanied him, walking the dusty roads, listening, learning, and following the one they called “Rabbi” or “Teacher”. Their relationship with Jesus grew, along with their faith in his message. They came to believe that he was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God as well as a human being.
In reading the various Gospel accounts of these three years, it may seem that Jesus and the disciples wandered almost aimlessly, crisscrossing and backtracking, going from village to village. However, what Jesus was teaching were radical ideas, freeing people from the rigidity of the law alone and turning them toward a relationship with God as a loving heavenly father. He needed to repeat these lessons and principles in various ways — parables, sermons, and personal conversations — to bring people to an understanding and belief in his message.
As we get to this chapter of Mark, the journey to Jerusalem has begun. Jesus becomes noticeably purposeful, with a specific destination and the clear knowledge of what lies ahead. He has already told the disciples twice that he will be condemned, tortured and killed. He tells them the same thing a third time, and even includes the statement of his resurrection. But they can hardly comprehend his words — for three years they have listened to the voice of peace, love, forgiveness, and selflessness. Now they are told the next step holds violence, viciousness, and death. The mind rebels at the thought, and they seem to either ignore or deny it.
During these days of Lent, we too can join Jesus on this journey, but with one very important difference: it is Jesus who carries the burden of sin for all, accepts the torture and death on our behalf, and who rises from the grave, giving us the promise of a resurrection like his.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers