GOSPEL MEDITATION
Mark 10:32-34
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
(also read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53)
- Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
- Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace.
- Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
- Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
- Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
- Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
- For the third time in Mark’s gospel Jesus tells (maybe warns is a better term) His disciples what will happen to Him. It is not long now before the actual events will take place.
- Jesus is aware of this for any number of reasons: one, His dying as a sacrifice had been noted by any number of O.T. prophets; two, His enemies could not allow Him to go on much longer; three, His arch enemy, Satan, had long been working in the background; four, Jesus reasoned the signs of the times properly.
- The “chief priests” and “scribes” likely reference to the Council of Israel, the Sanhedrin, who had the power to see to it the Romans would execute Him.
- Jesus spelled out exactly what would happen to Him, just as it was stated by King David 1,000 years earlier and by the prophet Isaiah some 770 years earlier: Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 are replete with the events.
- The Gentiles was a wider grouping than merely the Romans at the time. Romans 3:23 expresses it more exactly: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The all is absolutely inclusive, both Jews and Gentiles.
- We cannot fully grasp why the Son of God should be abandoned (Psalm 22:1) by God the Father, but to say that the Son must receive the righteous judgment for our sin. He literally suffered and died in our place.