Where He Leads, Will I Follow?
Mark 10:32-34
Introduction: Mark
is presenting his concise account of the story of Jesus, revealing that He is
the One promised in the Scriptures, the Rescuer of whom the prophets spoke. He
has been correcting the partial and inadequate understanding of who Jesus is by
showing that He is the Son of God, God incarnate. Now, on this final trip to
Jerusalem, He again shifts to his answer to a second question: Why did Jesus come? Here, for the
third time in three chapters, Jesus explicitly details, before the event, what
is going to happen in Jerusalem. Each of the three predictions includes the
common thread of His death and resurrection, but each also adds something to
the picture. What is being described is really the heart of the Good News that
is the Gospel: Jesus came to carry out the Father’s plan, to lay down his life
so that sinful humans could be reconciled to holy God, and experience new life,
life as it was meant to be (cf. John 10:10b).
The Context: In
these three verses Jesus again explicitly tells the disciples what will soon happen
in Jerusalem. And again, they don’t seem able to understand. The idea of a
suffering, rejected, dying Messiah doesn’t compute – they seemingly can’t comprehend
it, much less understand the prediction of His resurrection. Remember when after
the transfiguration, Jesus told the three not to tell the others until what
they had seen and heard, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
The disciples didn’t understand, and were discussing among themselves what this
rising from the dead might mean (Mk 9:9-10).
The BIG Idea: The call to follow Jesus is an
invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience the victorious new
life for which we were created. We’ll
see in these verses,
1) Jesus as the Resolute Savior, His face is “set like flint”
toward Jerusalem & the cross;
2) We’ll see Jesus as a Faithful Teacher, as He heads toward His suffering,
death and resurrection, He continues to train the disciples, preparing them for
the mission that lay ahead; And,
3) We are reminded that He is the Omniscient Son, He knows
exactly what is going to happen, what must
happen, in Jerusalem.
I. A Resolute Savior: Fully aware of what would soon happen, what had to
happen, Jesus leads the way to Jerusalem (32a,b).
“…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…
Jesus and the disciples were on the road, “going up” to Jerusalem. We know that from the area of the Jordan
River, which runs from the Sea of Galilee
(about 700 feet below sea level) down to the lowest point on earth, the Dead
Sea (over 1400 feet below sea level). Jerusalem is 13-14 miles west of the northern
tip of the Dead Sea (and about 33 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea), and, is
about 2,500 feet above sea level. The journey from the Jordan Rift would
be quite an ascent for someone on foot, about 4000 feet. But when the Jews
spoke of “going up” to Jerusalem, it was not only a geographical observation,
it was also a spiritual affirmation. Jerusalem
was the City of God.
Jerusalem was the chosen city, the place where God had chosen for his
name to dwell. It was there that the Temple was built, the place of God’s
presence in the midst of His people. And so, the psalmist could sing in Psalm
24:3,
“Who shall ascend the hill of the
LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?”
To approach Jerusalem was to ascend the hill of the Lord. We recently
referred to the group of Psalms 120-134, called “Songs of Ascent.” They would
be sung by pilgrims as they were going up to Jerusalem for the pilgrim feasts. The
Temple was there, which was the place that the sacrifices were offered. The ark
in the Holy of Holies was the symbolic place of God’s presence in the midst of
His people. The writer to the Hebrews tells us those sacrifices were shadows
and types, looking forward to the perfect sacrifice that would be offered in
the fullness of time. And now, Jesus, God incarnate, was heading up to
Jerusalem to carry out God’s plan of redemption.
The timing of this visit speaks to that purpose. From the broader
context of the Gospel, we know that this visit to Jerusalem was as Passover approached,
one of the “pilgrim feasts” of Israel. Faithful Jews from all over were making
the trip there to remember the deliverance of the people out of Egypt, and to
celebrate the deliverance of the first born from the final plague that first
Passover. Luke tells us that Elijah and Moses spoke with Jesus on the Mount of
Transfiguration of His “departure,” that is, His exodos, which would be accomplished in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31b). Recall
that John the Baptist said when he first saw Jesus coming: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world!” (John 1:29). They were going up to Jerusalem,
where Christ, our Passover, would be
sacrificed for us (cf. I Cor 5:7b).
Notice too that Mark tells us that “…Jesus was walking ahead of them…” He
was leading them. Typically, a rabbi would walk alongside his disciples,
conversing with them, teaching them on the way. But as Luke said, “His face was set [like a flint] toward Jerusalem…” (Lk 9:51, 53; cf. Isa
50:7). We see that determination to go to Jerusalem here in Mark as well. He
is leading the way. The disciples, Mark tells us, “…were amazed…” That seems to refer to the twelve, those closest to
Jesus. We know from John’s Gospel that they expressed concern about traveling
down to Judea and Bethany, near Jerusalem (Jn 11:8). When Jesus affirmed his
determination to go, Thomas said, "Let us also
go, that we may die with him" (Jn 11:16). They knew the intentions of
the leaders, and so it seems that were “amazed” at Jesus’ determination to go,
despite the obvious danger.
Others, perhaps some followers who had not been with them the whole
time, perhaps some pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for the feast and just now
caravanning with Jesus and his closest followers, these unnamed others, “…were afraid…” Did they hear the
disciples discussing Jesus’ prediction of what would happen when they got
there? Or, perhaps, did they anticipate that the arrival of this messianic figure
might precipitate conflict when they arrived in Jerusalem? Wouldn’t the messiah
go to war with Rome? Remember back in Mark
8 Jesus said that if anyone would be his disciple, he needed to deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow Him. Jesus is showing the attitude of a servant, going before them, despite the cost He
was willing, even determined, to do for us, what we could not do for ourselves.
That’s the BIG Idea: The call
to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to
experience the victorious new life for which we were created. And so we see
Jesus as a 1) Resolute Savior, and also as…
II. A Faithful Teacher: Jesus continued to
prepare the disciples for their future mission (32c). “…taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to
him…”
Jesus persists in teaching the 12, He was not surprised by their
spiritual dullness! After all, His plan is to launch His church at Pentecost. He
knows that the day will soon come when the “Helper,” the Holy Spirit, will come
in a more present and permanent way, and their minds would be opened, as tells
them in John 14:26…
But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and
bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
And then, in the very next chapter, He says in
John 15:26,
"But when the Helper
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who
proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
The Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit, will teach and bring to
remembrance the things Jesus had said the disciples. That ministry of revelation and illumination
will be of foundational importance to the church. N.B. that the ministry of the
Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus. Jesus is the revelation of God to humans,
He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Him.
As Peter will say, “There is no other
name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts
4:12).
Think about what this prophecy about coming events reveals about
Jesus. As the prophets gave some
broad strokes about the coming messiah, along with some details, Jesus is
preparing the disciples by revealing ahead of time what will soon come to pass.
The Psalms spoke of a king, who would be betrayed, rejected, and suffer (e.g.
Ps 22,69). Isaiah too said that the Servant would be cut off from the land
of the living and would bear the sins of many (Isa 53). As the day draws
near, Jesus has been teaching his disciples of what must come to pass in Jerusalem. As the prophecies came to pass, the
disciples would be able to look back and see how the unfolding story was not a
defeat, but ultimately a confirmation and vindication of Jesus’ identity and
mission.
Jesus also knows the tribulation that the disciples would face (cf. Jn
16:33; Mk 10:38,39). So, as a faithful teacher, leading them to Jerusalem, He
was also calling them to count the cost. According to tradition, all of them, except
John who died in exile, would die as martyrs for the sake of Christ and the
Gospel. But the day will come when they will be raised to life and sit on
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28). If you know
Him, you too have a part in that Kingdom! You will reign with Him. That points
to the BIG Idea: The call to follow Jesus is an invitation to share in His
suffering, and also to experience the victorious new life for which we were
created. And so, we see Jesus as the 1) Resolute Savior, 2) A Faithful teacher,
and also as…
III. The Omniscient Son: Knowing
what would happen, in every detail, He obediently carried out the Divine Plan
(33,34).
"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."
This is the heart of this paragraph. It’s
what the Faithful Teacher was teaching on the way. This is what the Resolute
Savior would accomplish that Passover Week. Jesus again clearly predicts the
foundational Gospel events of His betrayal, death, and resurrection. His omniscience is further revealed here in
the details given about what will soon happen…
"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."
First of all, notice that Jesus is still describing himself using the
third person, and the title the Son of Man, as He did in the previous
two passages. He is teaching the disciples, who have already confessed Him as
the Messiah, so it seems that His intent is to reinforce the messianic
implications of the title. He wants them to understand what will soon happen,
but also to look ahead to the victorious return seen in Daniel 7:13,14…
13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there
came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was
presented before him. 14 And
to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations,
and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Jesus is that Deliverer, the One who
will establish an eternal, world-wide kingdom and rule the nations. But He is
the Passover-King, and the forensic basis for the deliverance that will one day
result in the Kingdom on earth must first be laid. Humans are separated from
Holy God by sin, and as a consequence, are by nature children of wrath. Soon
the transaction described by Isaiah would unfold,
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed
him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed
for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. 6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:4-6).
In our context in Mk 10:33,34, the Lord says the Day was drawing near. Jesus
now describes what is about to happen, He lays out in stages: 1) Being delivered
over to the chief priests and the scribes; 2) being condemned by them,
and 3) Being delivered over by them to the hands of the gentiles; 4) who
will mock, torture, and execute Him. That is pretty specific. Not a
spontaneous stoning as Stephen would experience in Acts 7, or being thrown off
a cliff as the crowd attempted at Nazareth. Specifically, being delivered to
the leaders of the Jews (cf. 9:31), condemned to death, and then being handed
over to the gentiles, where He would be mocked, spit upon, flogged, and
executed.
The initial step of being delivered to the leaders could refer to His
betrayal by Judas. Remember Judas is still one of the twelve. He has been
present to hear Jesus’ teaching on what would soon happen, now for the third
time predicting His death and resurrection. Considering Jesus’ determination to
carry out the plan of God, I can’t help but think of the words of Peter on
Pentecost, in Acts 2:22,23…
22 "…Jesus of Nazareth, a man
attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did
through him in your midst, as you yourselves know- 23 this Jesus, delivered up
according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and
killed by the hands of lawless men…”
That passage clerely show the
intersection of human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Peter says, “You
crucified Him by the hands of godless men.” They are responsible for
rejecting Him and handing Him over to the Romans for execution. Even so, He was
“delivered up according to the definite
plan [the predetermined purpose] and
foreknowledge of God…” God has a plan, He is sovereign. Humans are
responsible for their actions. How does that work? God’s over-arching
sovereignty is guiding His story according to His will. Within that story we
are responsible for the choices we make.
What is God saying to me in this passage? And so, we see Jesus as the 1)
Resolute Savior, 2) A Faithful teacher, and 3. The Omniscient Son… We
see a little more about who He is. We see some details about what He would soon
do. The question to us: Have we decided to follow Jesus? *The call to
follow Him is an invitation to share in His suffering, and also to experience
the victorious new life for which we were created.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? The Gospel of Mark began with the
statement, “The beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The Gospel is “good news” because God, in
Christ, was reconciling us to Himself. Paul described our desperate need in the
opening of Ephesians 2, we were dead spiritually. Then he points to God’s
indescribable gift,
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
loved us, 5 even when we were
dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have
been saved- 6 and raised us
up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus.
That is Good News! Do you understand
that we owed a debt that we could not pay? Even so, the price has been paid, by Christ. Jesus came as
our substitute to take in His sinless body the punishment for our sin. Because
of what He has done for us, we who believe, those who call Jesus Lord and
believe that He died for us and rose again, have peace with God! And even more,
we call Him Abba, Father (cf. I Jn
3:1). Do you believe? Is your trust, your hope, in Christ alone?
In this passage, Jesus is leading the disciples toward Jerusalem. He’ll
tell them more in the upper room about the promise of the Spirit, and also more
about the persecution that would follow. We are kingdom citizens, more than
that we are children of the King! But now, for a little while, we are pilgrims
in a fallen world. He has already said, if anyone would be His disciple, we must
deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Do you believe Him? Will you
trust Him? Will you follow?
God has promised that the
suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared to the glory that
will be revealed to us! AMEN.
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