Avoiding the Big Question: Luke 18:31-34

As we approach the big event that all the gospels focus in on, otherwise known as the crucifixion, some people believe that the events of crucifixion weekend came as a surprise to both Jesus and His disciples. However, people who believe Jesus was surprised about his upcoming death are not very familiar with the gospel record.

Numerous times, Jesus tried to prepare the disciples for what was coming, and it would appear as though Jesus’ words fell on deaf ears. The passage we are focusing in on in this episode is one such time where we find Jesus trying to warn His disciples about His crucifixion and what would happen soon.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will be reading it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 31:

³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

In this short, four-verse passage, we find Jesus clearly telling His followers about His upcoming arrest, His death, and His resurrection; and we see that the disciples didn’t understand any of what He was saying.

Luke’s gospel shares an interesting detail, and this is that the meaning of what Jesus was sharing was “hidden from them”.

The implication of this idea is that God hid the meaning of Jesus’ words from them. While I don’t know why He might have done this, I wonder if it had to do with God wanting the disciples to ask the challenging questions about what would happen.

In the first century, the whole Jewish culture was eagerly looking forward for a messiah to lead them out from being under Roman rule. The messiah they saw the scriptures predicting was one who would lead them to victory and who would last forever. Whether the prophecies about a suffering messiah were misunderstood, or whether they discounted their significance, the last thing on anyone’s mind was that the Messiah God would send would be jointly killed by both Jews and Gentiles.

But Jesus came and He was teaching this alternate view of prophecy. It took Jesus’ death and resurrection to break the preconceived ideas about the Messiah from the disciples’ minds. I don’t believe that God desired the message Jesus was sharing with His followers to be ignored or discounted; I believe God wanted Jesus’ disciples to ask for more information, and to learn from Jesus about what the scriptures said was to take place.

Jesus hints at this when He says in verse 31, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.” While Jesus then describes what will happen, we know that more things happened than Jesus decided to share here. I wonder if Jesus touched on the big points, but really wanted the disciples to ask for more details. It would have been amazing if one of the disciples had been brave enough to push past the confusion to ask Jesus what all was written by the prophets about Him. If one of the disciples had asked Jesus some further clarifying questions, I believe the crucifixion weekend wouldn’t have found the disciples hiding in the upper room for fear of being killed next.

Instead, if one of the disciples had given Jesus an opening, I believe He would have shared with them similar to how He shared with the two disciples walking to Emmaus following Jesus’ resurrection.

It is also interesting in my mind to hear people talk about how Jesus’ death was a surprise to Him. It is as though Judas Iscariot was able to pull off the greatest betrayal in history without Jesus being aware He was being duped.

However, what we find here in this passage is that Jesus knows Jerusalem is where He will face His death before Judas Iscariot even knows He will be the betrayer. Jesus knows exactly what will happen, including His resurrection just days later. Nothing about that trip startled Him, surprised Him, or caused Him to back away from the entire reason He came.

Jesus came to this earth to give His life for us, and He came to help us see how much the Father loves each of us!

In our own lives, with all the challenges, struggles, and problems we face, we can look to this passage and know that even if we don’t understand what is going to happen, God knows, and He is more than happy to walk with us through the struggles we face in this life. God has a bigger perspective and His perspective is saving us for eternity!

Also, we can know from this passage that God doesn’t want us to be surprised by the future. He wants us to know that He knows what will happen, and regardless of the state of the world, He is in control and leading history towards the end of sin and eternity for His people!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As we move through life, be sure to seek God first and to trust Him, believe His promises, and to depend on Him for help facing the struggles of this life. Ask Him to help us see His perspective, and to see things with an eternity focus.

Also, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself in order to grow your personal relationship with Jesus.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!