LUKE 18:31-34 JESUS PROPHESIES ABOUT HIS PASSION

JESUS PROPHESIES

ABOUT HIS PASSION

Luke 18:31-34

Luke 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.

Susie: Jesus took the twelve disciples aside to talk to them privately. It was a “for your ears only” conversation because He was making them privy to things He was not telling the entire crowd.

Susan: I was curious as to how many times Jesus clearly predicted His suffering and death to the twelve. There were definitely three recorded in all three of the synoptic gospels and possibly a fourth just before He was betrayed. Following a chart showing the references:

Jesus Prophesies About His Passion

Matthew 16:21-23	Mark 8:31-33	Luke 9:21-22
Matthew 17:22-23	Mark 9:30-32	Luke 9:43-45
Matthew 20:17-19	Mark 10:32-24	Luke 18:31-34
Matthew 26:1-2

Susie: Jesus makes a point that the events He is describing were all fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.

Luke 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

Susan: Jesus prophesied to the twelve that He would be ridiculed to the n^th degree at the hand of the Gentiles . . .

Susie: Which as we know would be the Roman soldiers. Isaiah prophesied this treatment of the Messiah (I sang this passage from “The Messiah” by Handel in college):

Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Luke 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

Susan: Not only were they going to abuse Him horribly to point of rendering Him unrecognizable due to the severe scourging. He no longer appeared human as His flesh was torn from His body. It makes me cringe even as I dictate it to Susie!

Susie: But then, Jesus prophesies the blessed hope of His resurrection saying that He will rise from the dead!

Luke 18:34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

Luke 18:34 (Phillips) But they did not understand any of this, His words were quite obscure to them and they had no idea of what he meant.

Susan: At first glance, the twelve appear to be osmium heads (denser than lead).

Susie: How could Jesus’s words go “whoosh” over their heads? To us, looking back in time, His meaning seems obvious.

Susan: One possibility is that the Holy Spirit, for a reason we are not told, was keeping them from understanding this for a divine purpose.

Susie: Another idea is that the twelve were so focused on the Messianic prophecies concerning an earthly kingdom that they could not comprehend the idea of a Messiah who would die. Their finite minds were “blown” by the thought of it.

Susan: His closest followers just could not fathom the idea of being separated from Jesus by death.

Susie: On another occasion that Jesus predicted His suffering and death, Peter actually rebuked Him! (Mark 9:31-32). In our current passage, I think the disciples may have gotten so hung up on the seemingly impossibility of a dead Messiah that they didn’t even hear the part about rising from the grave. Whether the Lord purposely darkened their understanding or their on misconceptions clouded their minds, the twelve remained clueless right up until Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead.

Susan: After Jesus’s resurrection, everything became clear. After the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, and they were infilled and infused with God’s presence, everything was made clear to them in order to empower them to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8).

Ponder this and Apply it: Do you ever feel like an “osmium head”—like the Word of God is just not making sense to you? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate the word to your mind. Also, understand that each time you read a Bible passage, God may reveal more and different things than the last time because the word is “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). We have been making the following scripture our prayer before opening the word each day:

Psalm 119:18 (HCSB) Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wonderful things from Your instruction.