Another Reminder from Jesus (Luke 18:31-34)

What do we think Jesus would speak about to his disciples after he has told them that he is going to provide for all their needs in this life and also give eternal life to them in the next world? We don’t have to wonder what Jesus spoke about because we are told what he said by Luke. But while we don’t have to ask what he said, we could ask why he said what he did. Would it have something to do with Peter’s focus on the sacrifice that he and others had made for the kingdom? Could something be bigger than that sacrifice of some physical possessions?

The resolve of Jesus

As we look at the reminder that Jesus gave them, we can see, first of all, his focus on the Bible. Many things happened to Jesus at the time of his death that are not mentioned in the Old Testament.

Some of those encounters were very good for the people who had them. Jesus would have known that they were going to happen, but he did not mention them here. He could have told the disciples that a man called Simon would help him carry the cross and that as a result Simon and his family would become believers. But he did not tell them that information. He could have told them that he would be crucified between two criminals and that one of them would ask to be remembered by Jesus. But he did not tell them that information. He could have told them that the centurion and the soldiers who crucified him would confess that he is the Son of God, but he did not tell them that information. He could have told them that Nicodemus, the religious leader who had come to speak with him three years previously, would help take care of his dead body, but he did not tell them that information. He could have told them that, in contrast to the rich young ruler, another ruler called Joseph of Arimathea would help him, and that detail is mentioned in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 53.

There may have been many reasons for not sharing those pieces of knowledge, but since those aspects of the cross are not mentioned in the Old Testament, it would fit with his policy of focussing on what the scriptures actually said. Of course, these stories are now in the scriptures, but they were not back then.

On the other hand, there were incidents around the death of Jesus that were not good for those involved. Jesus does not mention that he would refuse to speak to Herod when asked some questions by him after being taken to his palace for an interview during his trials before Pilate. He does not say that Pilate would deny him natural justice. He does not say that the religious leaders would be more concerned about participating in religious rites than they would about what would happen to him. But again those incidents are not mentioned in the Old Testament.

Surely, we see in the way the Saviour spoke about himself and his mission that he valued supremely what the scriptures said. Is this not the way that he saw things at other times as well? He told the Jews that they should search the scriptures because they testified of him. On the day of his resurrection, when he had the opportunity to detail for the two disciples on the way to Emmaus what had happened to him on the cross, he chose to use the scriptures to explain what had happened to him, and not only from some of the scriptures, but from all of them (Luke 22:27). He also informed the disciples that this had been his focus during the three years that they had been together: ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled’ (Luke 24:44).

One matter is obvious from the teaching of Jesus and that is that he expected people to know what their Bibles said. On one occasion, he informed the Sadducees of why they had wrong ideas: ‘Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?’ (Mark 12:24). Of course, it is not only a challenging question for them. It is also for all who should know what the Word of God says, but for various reasons do not.

The revealing of Jesus

Jesus did not merely tell the disciples that he would die. Instead, he reminded them that he would die according to certain circumstances that had been identified centuries before by the Old Testament prophets. Here he focuses on what the Gentile authorities would do to him, but even although they did their utmost to get rid of him, they would fail because he would rise from the dead three days after he was killed. Yet he does not suggest that his fate would be a defeat because he says that the fulfilment will be an accomplishment.

What do these verses tell us about Jesus? First, they show to us the determination of Jesus to go to Jerusalem to pay the penalty of sin. He knew what was going to happen to him when he reached there. Nothing was unknown except the actual experience of it.

Second, we see the solitude of Jesus. It was the case that he was going to Jerusalem with the disciples, but he was not going there to suffer with the disciples. Instead he was going there to suffer for the disciples, instead of them. They could have imagined, as they later did, that they could suffer with him, but they could not. He would have to go through it by himself. The solitude of Jesus is very impressive because it reveals his uniqueness, that he could achieve things without any help from other humans.

Third, his words remind us of the animosity shown towards Jesus. Judas was going to betray him for a paltry sum, and the Jewish leadership were going to twist the accusations and manipulate the system in order to get rid of him. Why? What evil had he done? None. Nevertheless, the scriptures had to be fulfilled. While his death would reveal his love, it also would reveal the hatred with which he was regarded by those who should have known better.

Fourth, this announcement reveals that he knew about the shame that he would undergo, the contempt with which he would be treated. What way was this to treat a person? We know that it was common for soldiers to treat their victims cruelly. If they could make the experience worse for the prisoner, then that is what they would do. Verse 32 highlights the disgraceful way that he was treated as he was mocked as the king of the Jews and spat on. It is hard to experience being spat on. Obviously, it is not as physically strong as to be punched and beaten. But there is something degrading about being spat on, a way of expressing extreme contempt towards someone who is despised.

Fifth, there is his description of his death. His death is described in different ways in the Bible. He was condemned to death by a kangaroo court in the Sanhedrin and a vacillating judge in Pilate. Jesus humbled himself to the point of death says Paul in his extraordinary description of the life and death of Jesus recorded in Philippians 2. On one occasion, Jesus said that his death would be an attractive one because through it he would draw all kinds of people to himself. Paul tells us the death of Jesus was a reconciling one because God and sinners can now be at peace with one another. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus tasted death, with the word ‘taste’ meaning tasting fully. Yet he also says that through that death the power of the devil was destroyed.

Sixth, we are reminded here by Jesus that he knew that he would rise again from the dead. Other people were raised from the dead, but none of them knew beforehand that they would. Lazarus did not know just before he died that he would be raised in a few days. The son of the widow in Nain did not know that Jesus would call at the village and raise him from the dead. Nor did Jairus and his wife know that Jesus would raise their daughter. Where did the prophets say he would rise again from the dead? When they said that he would rule the nations after his death. Moreover, Jesus saw in the experience of Jonah being three days in the belly of the fish a picture of him being in the grave for three days.

Seventh, these words of Jesus tell us features of his outlook as he made his way to Jerusalem. Obviously, they tell us about his confidence despite the awfulness of the experience that was ahead of him. As we can see, not even his coming death affected the degree of his confidence that he would rise. In addition, we can see in these words the willingness of Jesus to suffer on that final day of his earthly life. Some men are brave because they ignore the danger, other men are brave because they cannot fully appreciate the danger, but Jesus did not push it out of his mind, nor was he ignorant of what it all entailed. He was willing to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things.

The response of the disciples

Probably, we are surprised to read that the disciples did not understand what Jesus said to them. No doubt, if we could have asked them, ‘What did Jesus say to you?’ they would have been able to recount the details that he had mentioned. The question remains, why did they not understand? An answer is given by Luke which indicates that there was a divine activity in their inability to understand. Yet his explanation leads to another question as to why this divine action was taken. Was it not an action of rebuke for their failure to listen to what Jesus had told them on several occasions about his coming sufferings? They were fixed in their wrong belief that Jesus would not suffer.

This problem did not cease with the early disciples. Matthew Henry mentions that one common cause for a failure to understand the Bible is selective reading of it. He suggests that the disciples preferred the passages that spoke about the glory of the Messiah and ignored those that mentioned his sufferings. I suppose we could ask ourselves if we prefer to read Psalm 23 rather than Psalm 1.

In addition to being selective, there can be a lack of care when responding to divine information. A failure to listen to what God says has been the wrong response since the beginning. The reason why Adam and Eve fell was connected to failing to listen closely to what God had said. Isaiah reminded people that because they had not listened or paid attention to what God had commanded, they would not experience his peace which could have been theirs in great amounts. Peter did not listen to Christ when warned about denying his Master, and we know what happened. The disciples heard Jesus often, but their physical hearing was not the same as listening.

Often, disciples don’t listen because of other voices. Distraction is a common reason for this problem. One man said that a heart full of clutter cannot discern the voice of Christ. So many things are shouting for attention that his voice is drowned out, as it were, even when we are reading the Bible.

Another reason for not grasping what God is saying is the failure to ask him to enable us to understand his word, whether it be instructions or promises or, as with the case of the disciples here, descriptions of the supernatural events connected to the life and death of Jesus. When at other times they asked him about something, as with his parables in Matthew 13 or his account of what would happen in the future in Matthew 24, he gave them the necessary information. But they did not ask every time. And we need to ask for understanding.

Reading the description of this incident and what Jesus said, we are puzzled concerning what the disciples could not understand about it. The meaning of his words are obvious. Yet because of their persistent habit of not listening, God kept them from understanding what was said. We all need the prayer of the child Samuel that Eli taught him, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’