There is a literary device in fiction called foreshadowing. That is where the writer gives you a subtle hint that seems unimportant but foreshadows future events. A character casually says that they have a fear of spiders. It doesn’t mean much until later in the story when that character confronts the fear to achieve a dramatic rescue. As a reader, we often miss the foreshadowing unless we reread the story.
Like us missing the foreshadow. Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand His plain message about what was going to happen on the road ahead. “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him, and he will rise after three days.” (Mark 10:32–34, CSB) Mark does not record their reaction.
We know from later in the story that Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection caught them by surprise. And yet, Jesus had told them plainly what was going to happen. It is easy to be amazed at the disciples’ failure to “get it.” And yet it is a cautionary reminder asking us to consider what we are not “getting” in our walk with Christ.
You see, the disciples were blinded by their own presumptions, hopes, and predictions about why Jesus came to earth. We see that in the next passage, as James and John skip over what Jesus had just said to ask about sitting in seats of authority in His kingdom.
Jesus came to set the world right, but not in the way that the disciples imagined. Perhaps not in the way we imagine or hope. The prevailing winds of that day were that the Messiah would conquer the world and establish a physical kingdom. So, all this talk of being arrested, mocked, tortured, and murdered didn’t fit their presumptions. And Jesus’ saying he would rise again went way over their heads.
Jesus did come and set the world right. He did establish a Kingdom that will never end. His Kingdom is not established through political power, military might, financial wizardry, or religious fervor but through humility, grace, forgiveness, faith, and love. It is a Kingdom that is established in the hearts of men and women of all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues.
None of us clearly sees the road ahead. Neither do we understand why we must walk the path of life Jesus plans for us. The best we can do is be obedient to the Word of God, taking the next step before us in faith. “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105, CSB) Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear you, Lord, so that we may walk the road ahead with You.
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