And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
In Matthew 20, many people were heading up to Jerusalem for passover.* I imagine the streets full of people ascending to the great city of David. Carts and mules and people on foot walking up the streets. Their excitement for the holiday increasing with each step closer to the holy city. It is in this context of hustle and bustle, heading to Jerusalem with many others to celebrate the angel of death passing over the people of God in Exodus, that Jesus pulls the disciples aside and out of the flow of traffic. On the way to the city of peace, Jesus tells them that He will die.
This is not the first time that Scripture tells us that Jesus told them that He would die, but this sacred backdrop gives us an idea of how difficult it must have been for the disciples to receive His words. Surely, a man who heals, transfigures, multiplies food, knows what people are thinking, speaks in parables, is uniquely and totally divine, is the Messiah, and is one with God must mean something else with these words. Surely, walking up to celebrate the passing over of the angel of death, Jesus must mean for them to assume that death will pass over Him. Surely, the religious leaders of their day that cannot out-think, out-talk, or capture Him cannot possibly ever overcome Him. Surely, Jesus is the overcomer.
With this context, the disciples once again miss the words of Jesus (we know this because later they are grieving sullen because of His death). They did not even ask Him to explain it. It’s almost as if their silence says, “Sure Jesus. Sure thing. Let’s continue our journey.”
How often do we miss the meaning of the words of Jesus because of our context? How often do we hear Jesus ask us to give, and we just think of money? How often does He ask us to pray for someone and we think He means worry about them? How often does Jesus ask us to pick up our cross and we think that He means go to a building every Sunday? How often does He tell us we will influence the world for Him and we think that means we should be famous?
I can tell you that in my life, I thought that for a long time that the call of God on my life to tell others about Him through the sport of soccer meant that I would be famous. I spent years using my own fame as a filter for His words to me. It took me a long time to come to a place where I would hear His words for how He meant them. When I did, it changed my life for the better.
Pausing long enough to ask Jesus what He means is crucial. We must allow Christ to define Himself and His words; we must not attempt to do it for Him. We see in part; He sees all. We must do this when He speaks something to our hearts, and we must do this while reading His Word. “What does this mean to me?” is a dangerous question to answer out of our own understanding. “What does this mean to You, God?” is a question of disciples.
When we do not believe or understand words of Jesus like, “I will be crucified,” we miss words of Jesus like, “I will then be resurrected.” To understand the power of resurrection, we must understand the devastation of crucifixion.
There are things that Jesus wants to say to you tomorrow that requires you to hear what He is saying today. Jesus will faithfully speak to us. He will tell us of today, and He will tell us of tomorrow. The questions remain, will we hear Him? Will we understand from His perspective?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to hear the words of Jesus through His perspective. Perhaps God would have you revisit something He spoke to you that you either did not think came true, or is not going as you planned. Maybe God wants to help you to see as He sees. Perhaps God wants you to pause on the journey up to the next big thing to hear His words. Maybe God wants you to abandon the habit of assigning meaning to His words for Him.
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), 505–508, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 20:17–19) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).