He … began to tell them what things should happen unto Him.” Mark 10:32 KJV
He … began to tell them what was going to happen to Him.” Mark 10:32 NASB
This section (vv 32-34) begins with the mention of the disciples being afraid as they followed Him. Yet He was the One who knew what was going to happen. As He went before them they were amazed. Something in His bearing, perhaps something in His fixed and resolute eyes, made them fearful of what was ahead in Jerusalem.
But He knew no fear. It was not the daring of a foolhardy and ignorant individual. It was not the bravery of a sudden impulsive moment. It was the conscious, voluntary movement toward a fixed destiny. Fear entered the world when sin came into the world (Gen 3:10). He who was without sin never knew fear. He moved resolutely for God.
No unforeseen event, e’er took Him by surprise
Toward the cross with fixed intent, He moved with open eyes.
The scourging and the scorn, the worst that men could do
The meaning of the crown of thorns lay open to His view. I.E.
Now the disciples are ready for a further disclosure than He gave them in chapter 8:31. To the description there are added the words, “deliver Him to the Gentiles, mock … scourge … spit upon Him …” The indignity and shame grow worse. Not only Jews involved, but Jews committing Him into the hated Gentile hands. Not only rejected and killed, but mocked, scorned, and even spit upon before His death. He disclosed details “as they were able to bear it.” Wisely and compassionately He unfolds the story of all that was before Him, and of all that they had to face.
Think of how incredulous the disciples would be at each of the things mentioned: for the Jews to deliver someone to the Gentiles would be a mark of unusual hatred and rejection. Yet here was the One who was the benefactor of all. To be mocked and scorned was the utmost shame for a Jewish male. But to be spat upon? That was left for the lowest of society, the man who would not carry out his kinsman-redeemer responsibility! That the Savior they knew and had moved with, the One who was always their resource and refuge, the Man upon whom heaven opened on those occasions, that this should happen to Him was hard for them to believe. Should it be any easier for us to believe?
Gospel Video – Don’t Rain on My Parade
Consider:
- What was the response of disciples to this disclosure in verses 35-41? Trace the various times the Lord revealed His coming sufferings and notice how often in the immediate context, the disciples are vying for first place and prominence.
- In the verses that follow (vv 38-39), the Lord Jesus likens His death to a cup He must drink and a baptism He must experience. What is the difference and what do they suggest about His sufferings?