Focus and Clarity
| They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again He took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to Him. "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise." (Mark10:32-34) |
They're heading towards Jerusalem and Jesus is walking ahead of them. He isn't ambling along, teaching the disciples and crowds. He's focused and determined. He's leading the way - walking into His destiny. The disciples are filled with wonder and the other followers are fearful. They know that the tensions with the "religious mafia" are high and that there is a good chance that Jerusalem is a trap.
Jesus isn't filled with false optimism - He isn't deluded. He knows what's coming. He spells it out clearly and yet He is route-marching to Jerusalem. He's terse and clear. The time for beating about the bush is over. The disciples must be warned - and even though they don't fully grasp it, Jesus is preparing them. They will still scatter and hide, but in time it will all become clear that it was God's plan.
I prefer to use capital pronouns whenever I refer to God. It makes the writing slightly less readable, but denotes respect...
Today it was hard to put capital letters on Jesus' pronouns when the phrases were "condemn Him", "hand Him over", "mock Him", "spit on Him", "flog Him" and "kill Him." He was the glorious Son of God and we would do these terrible things to Him.
And He led the way and walked into His destiny...
