Jesus Predicts His Death

“Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.” (‭‭Mark‬ ‭9:30-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

While preaching to His disciples, Jesus prophesied His own death. Of course, hearing this news was more than a little frightening, not to mention concerning. No one within the group dared to question this particular revelation, being too afraid to understand and accept that the Son of Man would be taken by the hands of man himself.

This verse may not stand out at first, but, as many of us are aware, it is one of a few presages of the Bible that talk about Jesus’ crucifixion. It can be scary to talk about it, not to mention read about it. Personally, I still have a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that He willingly laid down His life for our sake, all because He loved us more than life itself.
Death is never a fun topic to talk about, and I can only imagine what Jesus was thinking about knowing what was to become of Him. He was honest with His disciples; He didn’t sugar coat His teachings and only answered questions when asked.

We can only pray that God gives us enough strength and courage to carry ourselves in a similar way. While we may not know when or how we are going to leave this earth, it is important that we do trust Him, just as Jesus trusted His own father. It’s scary, but with God even death will have a hard time keeping us away from Him. Through this passage, let it be a reminder that because of Jesus’ sacrifice, fear will never be an obstacle for us. While we may have our moments – too afraid to ask questions or even too afraid to trust God – He will never abandon us, because that’s how much we mean to Him.

Let us Pray:
Dear heavenly father, thank You for loving us and cherishing us no matter how broken we may be. Your forgiveness and strength has allowed us to overcome any obstacles that have, and will come before us, because with You anything is possible, despite how weak we may feel at times.
Our sins will always be forgiven because of the sacrifice of Your son, Jesus, and there is no greater gift we will ever receive that can compare. We pray that You continue to heal all those who come before You, spiritually and physically. Use me as Your woman/man of God to allow Your will to work through others who are in desperate need of your attention and care, because all things can be done through You Lord. And it’s in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.