As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
When I have read this passage in the past, I have imagined scenes of Judas leading the Roman soldiers to take Jesus. I have pictured Jesus walked along the road, beaten and bruised, carrying the cross of my sin. I have imagined these things in error.
Yes, Judas lead the Roman soldiers to take Jesus (John 18:3), and yes, Jesus bore the cross of my sin. These images that come to my mind stem from the words “The Son of Man is about to be delivered.” This word delivered is the root of my error. This word delivered in the original language signals something very profound: it was God who delivered Jesus to the hands of men.*
The images I had were not complete. We must understand in this most difficult verse that the work of John 3:16 (where God gave His only Son) looked like delivering Him to the hands of evil men for death and resurrection.
The reality of this death hung heavy upon the disciples, and it may hang heavy on us today.
God calls us to do great and mighty works, and obedience unleashes His power. At times, however, as in the case of Jesus and many who follow Him, obedience looks like suffering. What do we do when obedience looks like suffering? What do we do when obedience hurts?
We must do what Jesus did: trust that resurrection is coming.
The disciples did not yet understand the resurrection. Had they understood, they would not have been distressed. While the death of your best friend via the cross is nothing to rejoice about, surely the resurrection of Him would outweigh the burden.
We must allow the promised resurrection in our lives and of our lives to outweigh the grief of the loss experienced in this life. This isn’t easy, but these are the types of things that the Holy Spirit loves to give us power to do.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to obey Him even in the difficulty, pain, or suffering. Perhaps God is calling you to lay down an idol of comfort. Maybe God is telling you to trust in His resurrection power to restore, renew, and revive what is dead or what may die.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 450–451, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 17:22–23) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).