This is Going to Happen. . .for Real!
Matthew 20:17-19, NIV - Now Jesus was going up to
Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going
up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests
and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him
over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day
he will be raised to life!”
As we work our way through Matthew’s
gospel, we have heard Jesus issue the above warning multiple times
already. But this time, it seems to take
on some extra intensity. Jesus and his
entourage are headed toward Jerusalem now and Jesus knows that the events about
which he has given previous warnings are going to be set in motion once they
arrive. So we see Jesus take his disciples
aside. Think about a time when someone
has taken you aside to tell you something monumentally important. This is one of those moments. Picture the intensity on Jesus’s face. Imagine the silence in the pause before He
speaks. Sense the stern tone in His
voice. This is a serious moment.
It's really going to happen. They will get to Jerusalem. Jesus will be arrested. He will be found guilty. He will be humiliated, beaten, and crucified. Jesus needs them to know that, while they may
have tried to ignore His previous warnings,
these terrible things are indeed going to happen and that fateful time
has arrived. The disciples can ignore
this no longer.
I totally get the disciples’
denial. It’s usually after the bad thing
has happened that I look back and remember that some part of me felt the pain
coming before it arrived, but I refused to acknowledge the signs. I’m really quite good at mental avoidance. And so in a state of denial, the bad thing
happens and it is all the more devastating because I am not prepared. Jesus is working to avoid that with his
closest friends here. While his warning
is jolting and unpleasant, it is also an act of compassion. He wants them to know for sure that they
remember his warning so that they will also remember the promise comes with
it.
Jesus is going to die and His disciples
will be there to see it. But when they
see it, they not only will remember that Jesus told them it would happen, but
they will remember what Jesus told them would happen next. He will be raised to life. Some worse than they can imagine will happen,
but it will be followed by something they will only be able to believe after they
see it. The worst thing they
can imagine won’t ever be last thing.
For those who trust in God, that
sentence is Eternal Truth. The worst
thing is never the last thing. Daylight
always comes even after the darkest night.
There is a profound calm after the worst of storms. Tragedy never has the last word. Death is swallowed up in the victory of resurrection.
People who know me know that I talk
about this Eternal Truth a lot. I do so not
only because I want others to believe it, but because I need to remind myself of
it all the time. In the dark nights, in
the midst of the storms, and when tragedy strikes, my tendency is to forget. Jesus knows this about us humans because He
is human. So reminds his friends that
God will always have the last word and God is good all the time. So I remind myself and I remind you. No matter how dark the night is or how terrifying
the storm, God has the last word and God is always good.
Question: How do you
regularly remind yourself and others about the Eternal Truth above?
Prayer: No matter how
many times it takes for it to sink in Lord, help us to know deep in our hearts
that You will always have the last word and You are always good. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for
people you know are experiencing darkness and storms right now.
Song: Even If – MercyMe
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