24.166 | LET US FACE OUR FEARS | Mark

God’s Word for Today
11 Jul, 2024
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 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. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
-Mark 10:32-34 ESV
LET US FACE OUR FEARS
As they were heading to Jerusalem, Jesus' followers expressed their fear. Most likely, these followers primarily refer to the Twelve. But they may be other disciples following the Twelve. Previously, Jesus had warned the disciples two times before that He would be killed (see Mark 8:31-33 and 9:30-32). However, this is time, He notes the location - Jerusalem. The threats that have been building against Jesus could have caused their fear.
Unlike His disciples, Jesus has the resolve not to fear. The night before His crucifixion, He resolved with much anguish (Mark 14:34-38). As human Himself, the mocking, spitting, flogging, and death by crucifixion must have caused His anguish. He calls Himself “the Son of man”. Even worse than the physical pain, the betrayal by His friend Judas, rejection from His own people, and the wrath of His Father upon Him as the payment for the sins of the whole world(Mark 15:33-39). However, the knowledge that His sacrifice will be accepted by God the Father and would cover the sins of countless sinners gives Him the courage to walk to Jerusalem.
Many of the world seems to put the blame upon the Jews for killing Jesus. This is sad. However, in essence, all of us killed Him because of our sins. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world.
In the account of Luke, he adds some insight as to the disciples' misunderstanding. In Luke 18:34, he writes, "But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” Apparently, God hid the full meaning of Jesus' words from the disciples, but we aren't told why.
God does this to us as well, doesn’t He?. We desire to know what will happen in our lives or what decisions we should make. But, we're not always ready to hear the truth. It is wise for God to give us time to grow a bit first, in knowledge, maturity, or faith. Oftentimes, we don’t know how strong we are and how well we will be able to handle what's coming. But, God knows the perfect time. [Ecc 3:11] When God doesn't answer our prayers for clarity, we can always trust Him and pray that He will prepare us for the future. Knowing His sovereignty to execute His plan and purposes may be our comfort when approaching the unknown.
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