¹⁷ Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “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 ¹⁹ 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!”

Purpose Statement

Jesus doesn’t just wander into a shrewd political entrapment and end up tragically losing his own life.  He is on a mission and the purpose of his mission is to be a substitutionary sacrifice to raise the world into a new life if it will follow him into death.  Jesus knows who he is, he knows what he must do, and he is set on accomplishing the greatest mission of all time.  We must then follow him through deat into new life.  We must kill our old ways and old processes and take on a new perspective.  The life that we are born into is nothing.  The new life that we are born into after we choose to die is everything.

Questions

1. What did Jesus do with the Twelve in order to tell them what would happen?
2. Why did he tell them?
3. How could Jesus know the details of how his betrayal and crucifixion would pan out?
4. What do you believe disciples are to do upon hearing this news?
5. How do you show a greater understanding of the death and resurrection of Jesus than your unbelieving peers?