COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 115
“ Mark 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And He took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him, 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles: 34 And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34; Matt 20:17-19; Lk 18:31-34)
AND HE BEGAN TO TELL THE TWELVE
INTRODUCTION
Jesus has come into the coasts of Judea, and the people have resorted to Him. As He was accustomed to do, He “taught them again” (10:1). During that time, the Pharisees tempted Him, asking if a man could put away his wife for every cause (10:2-9). After answering the Pharisees, Jesus later enlarged on the matter to His disciples, who had asked Him again of the matter (10:10-12). Also, at that time, some people brought their children to Jesus that He might “touch them.” After His disciples had rebuked the people for, what they thought was an intrusion, Jesus was displeased, instructed them on the matter, and told them to bring the children to Him. He then took them in His arms and blessed them (10:13-16). At that point a rich young ruler came to him, knelt down, and asked what he should do to “inherit eternal life.” When Jesus finally told him to sell all that he had, give the poor, take up his cross, and follow Him, the young man went away sorrowing. He then elaborated on how difficult it was for a rich man to be saved, astounding the disciples with his teaching (10:17-31). In a sense, all of those events were incidental – almost like a distraction. Jesus had set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, preparing to lay down His life as a ransom for many (Lk 9:51; 12:50). Now Jesus resumes His intended journey, and will again tell his disciples what is going to happen to Him. He knows the intent behind what will occur. As yet His disciples do not know. From a higher view, Jesus was being tested – tempted to turn from His real mission in order to deal with the difficulties and questions of men. But He will not be diverted from His work!
JESUS GOES BEFORE THEM, AND THEY ARE AMAZED
“ Mark 10:32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him.”
IN THE WAY GOING UP. “In the way” means on the road that led up to Jerusalem. Jesus had set out from Galilee, resolutely heading for Jerusalem, a journey of 35-40 miles. He is going to the place where He will give “Himself as a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Tim 2:6). The phrase “up to Jerusalem” does not mean Northward. It rather refers to Jerusalem being located on high terrain, so you ascended in going to the city, which was set among the hills. The land of Israel is said to be higher than any other land. Jerusalem was the highest part of the land, and the Temple was the highest art of the city. JOHN GILL The Psalmist says the mountains were “around Jerusalem” (Psa 125:2). Jerusalem itself is called God’s “holy mountain” (Isa 66:20; Dan 9:16), and is said to be “beautiful for situation” (Psa 48:2). By intention, Jerusalem was an outward depiction of the “heavenly places” in which we have been seated in Christ (Eph 2:6). It was afforded this dignity because salvation would be wrought out within it, and the knowledge of God would flow out from it.
HE WENT BEFORE THEM. By saying Jesus “went before them,” the text means He was “walking on ahead of them,” NASB or “leading the way.” NIV This would be our Lord’s last trip to the holy city, and He was intent upon going there, for this is why he came into the world. He did not go reluctantly, but led the way. The zeal with which Jesus addressed His mission is challenging to consider. At the beginning of His ministry, when Jesus cleansed the Temple, His disciples took note of His unparalleled zeal. “And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten Me up” (John 2:17; Psa 69:9). Now, they note the same zeal is associated with entering into apparent danger. It is written that the Messiah, in bringing salvation, would be “clad with zeal as a cloak” (Isa 59:17). The greatness of that salvation, coupled with the fierceness of the adversary, demanded that Jesus enter into his work in this manner. It simply could not be accomplished in any other way. Even though the Father sustained Him, holding His hand (Isa 42:6), yet it required the total commitment of Christ to do the Father’s will. The Father’s own righteousness, which included His zeal, would also sustain the Savior in this work (Isa 59:16). Therefore, Jesus led the way back to Jerusalem, where He knew death – a most difficult death – awaited Him.
In this, our Lord established the manner of true obedience, which is always with holy determination – heartfelt and focused. Casual disciples will never be able to do the will of the Lord, for that “will” necessities the total involvement of those engaged in it. There is no such thing as half-hearted or partial obedience, and it is spiritually lethal to proceed in life as there that was not true. Here is an area where Jesus set the pace for all of His followers.
THEY WERE AMAZED. Other versions read, “they were astonished.” NIV “full of wonder,” BBE “troubled,” GENEVA “shocked,” GWN “in a daze,” NJB and “filled with awe.” NLT Ordinarily, others went before Jesus as He approached a city (Matt 14:22; 21:1; Mk 6:45; Lk 9:52). But this time, Jesus Himself led the way, which was not His ordinary manner. He sent no one to announce His coming, or to prepare a place for Him. This was a different kind of visit, and the disciples sensed it, though they had no understanding of the circumstance.
THEY FOLLOWED HIM, AFRAID. This is the multitude that was following Jesus, from which the twelve would be separated for special instruction. Following the raising of Lazarus in Bethany, close to Jerusalem, the chief priests and Pharisees had taken counsel, continuing to seek an occasion to put Jesus to death (John 11:53). Because of this circumstance, Jesus departed from the region of Judea, and “walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness,” continuing isolated with His disciples (John 11:54). But now, in spite of the increasing danger in the area of Jerusalem, Jesus zealously heads back to the city. Others, sensing the danger, follow Him in fear.
HE BEGAN TO TELL THEM. Now Jesus takes “the twelve” aside to reveal to them what is going to happen in Jerusalem. He must separate them from the larger number of disciples to make known things to them that other ears are not yet suited to hear. Remember, Judas is among them at this time. He will hear the details of what he himself will do, and yet will not be able to retain them his heart. There are things that many followers cannot receive. Only those more acquainted with Christ, and who have been given “greater works” (John 14:12) to do, can hear of such things. Godly men should be able to deduce from this that the masses of people cannot always hear the same things. If one chooses to accommodate the general disciples alone, the key disciples must be neglected, and truth withheld from them.
DELIVERED, CONDEMNED, AND GIVEN TO THE GENTILES
“ 33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles.”
Some men are more interested in what is going to happen to them. Here is the Master opening up to “the twelve” what was going to happen to Him. It is true that there were times when Jesus revealed to the disciples what their own experiences would be (Matt 10:18-22; 24:9; 26:31; Mk 13:9; 13:13; Lk 21:16-17; John 16:20; 21:18). However, that was not the center of Jesus’ message, and does not even have a part in the Gospel of Christ. Jesus is the heart and core of the Gospel, and His experience is the apex of all experience. His experiences related to His mission, and have redemptive power in them. No other human experience possesses this quality. The church does well to accent the right Person and the greatest experience, which is Christ’s. It is only within the context of Christ’s Person, experience, and achievements, that our lives obtain any importance.
WE GO UP TO JERUSALEM. This would be the place where the Savior would tread the winepress of the wrath of God, being made a curse for us (Isa 63:3; Gal 3:13) – Jerusalem, “the city of God!” (Psa 46:4; 87:3). Joel prophesied that the promised “deliverance” from sin would take place in Jerusalem (Joel 2:32). Zechariah foretold, “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem” (Zech 14:8). Jesus Himself told His disciples that the remission of sins would be preached in His name “beginning at Jerusalem” (Lk 24:47). Now Jesus will again divulge to “the twelve” what was determined to take place as a foundation of that redemption.
This is now the fourth time Jesus has made a point of this to His disciples. Following the good confession of Peter, “began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (Matt 16:21). Shortly after that, and following His transfiguration, Jesus again “began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). A little later, after He had cast the demon out of a young boy, and instructed His disciples concerning their own unbelief, He “taught His disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall killHim; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day. (Mark 9:31).” Now, for the fourth time, He goes over these appointed epochal events again, thus underscoring their essential and pivotal role in redemption. Following His resurrection, when the women came to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body, an angel reminded them of what Jesus had said about His suffering, death, and resurrection. “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered His words” (Luke 24:5-8). One of the great tragedies of our time is that the modern church has not placed any stress on these redemptive provisions.
DELIVERED TO THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND SCRIBES. Judas, after he had communed with “the chief priests and the scribes” (Lk 22:2), betrayed Jesus to the militia who had come “from the chief priests and the scribes and elders of the people” (Mark 14:43). The “chief priests” were the experts in ordained religious ceremony and procedure, and the scribes were experts in the Scriptures. The ceremonies had been given to point to Christ, and the Scriptures provides a rational depiction of Him. Yet those who headed both of those branches of Jewish life proved to be the enemies of Jesus.
THEY WILL CONDEMN HIM TO DEATH. This refers to the initial trial of Jesus that took place during the night. When Jesus was before the “chief priests and all the council,” He acknowledged that he was the Christ. Upon hearing that confession, “they all condemned Him to death,” just as Jesus said they would (Mark 14:61-64). Matthew reports them saying, “He is guilty of death,” or “deserving of death” NKJV (Matt 26:66). Years later, Paul said of those sinful leaders, “they have fulfilled them” (the Scriptures) “in condemning Him” (Acts 13:27).
This judgment did not come from the Romans, but from the Jews, among whom Jesus had ministered for over three years, declaring the Kingdom of God. Further, it was the supposedly most knowledgeable among them who declared Him condemned – unworthy to live.
DELIVERED TO THE GENTILES. In a gand display of hypocrisy, the leaders did not take it upon themselves to personally kill Jesus. After all, this was a holy time – the time of the Passover. Therefore they “bound Jesus, and carried Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate” (Mk 15:1). They delivered Jesus “to the Gentiles,” whom they personally despised, yet thought worthy to carry out their sentence of Jesus to death. John tells us they did this “early” in the morning, not entering Pilate’s judgment hall themselves, “lest they be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover” (John 18:28). This was a display of unparalleled hypocrisy.
MOCKED, SCOURGED, SPIT UPON, KILLED, AND RAISED
“ 34 And they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him: and the third day He shall rise again.”
The manner in which they treated the One who was “meek and lowly in heart” contradicts every aspect of sound thought. These deeds were the result of a judgment rendered by a people who had a covenant from God. They were the ones who had been cultured and prepared to receive the One they had condemned. A special prophet had been raised up to prepare the way for this Redeemer, and to turn the people toward Him. As if that was not enough, the Savior had spent more than three years among them, astounding them with both His words and works, while God publicly approved of Him by means of “miracles and signs and wonders” (Acts 2:22). This confirms what sin did to the human race, and how hostile the carnal mind is against the Lord. Now, there is no need to philosophize about the extent of human corruption.
THEY SHALL MOCK HIM. To “mock” is to deride, ridicule, and make fun of. They sported with Him as the Philistines did with Samson (Judges 16:25,27). In His report of the shameful treatment of Jesus, Mark says they covered His face, beat Him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” (Mk 14:65). Matthew reports they said, “Prophesy unto us, Thou Christ, Who is he that smote Thee?” (Matt 26:68). The Gentiles treated Him spitefully also, clothing “Him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, and put it about His head, and began to salute Him, Hail king of the Jews!” (Mk 15:17-18). While He still wore the purple robe, they struck Him on the head with a reed, “and bowing their knees worshiped Him” (Mk 15:19). Luke says that Herod and his men of war “set him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe” (Lk 23:11).
THEY SHALL SCOURGE HIM. To scourge a man is to flog or beat him with a lash or whip, deriding him in the process. It literally means to “punish severely.” FRIBERG It is said of Pilate that he “scourged Jesus” (Matt 27:26). John says, “Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him” (John 19;1). Luke refers to the process as Jesus being “chastened” (Lk 23:16). The Psalmist referred of this sort of beating when he wrote, “The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows” (Psa 129:3). Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah wrote, “I gave My back to the smiters” (Isa 50:6). Such unspeakable cruelty attests to the depravity of men.
THEY WILL SPIT UPON HIM. “They shall spit upon Him.” Luke reads, “spitted on” (Lk 18:32). This was a sign of utter contempt. Job said of those who derided him, “They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face” (Job 30:10). Isaiah said the Messiah would not hide His face “from shame and spitting” (Isa 50:6). Matthew says of Jewish leaders themselves, “they spit in His face” (Matt 26:67). Mark says that “some began to spit on Him” (Mk 14:65). Under the Law, spitting in one’s face was a sign of rejection and cursing (Deut 25:9). Thus, both the Jewish leaders and the Gentiles treated Jesus as though He was worthy of contempt and shame, thinking nothing of spitting in His face. That is how hard a man’s heart can become!
THEY WILL KILL HIM. “ . . . and shall kill Him.” Matthew reads Jesus was delivered to the Gentiles “to crucify Him” (Matt 20:19). Luke reads, “and put Him to death” (Lk 18:33). Some philosophize about whether or not the Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death. The Scriptures, however, make the matter quite clear, tracing it to both the Jewish people and their leaders. As God sees things, the Jews “by wicked hands . . . crucified” and slew Jesus (Acts 2:24), and therefore. “killed the Prince of life” (Acts 3:15). Paul specifically said they “killed the Lord Jesus” (1 Thess 2:15). It is true that this was done in accordance with “the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 4:2:23), and that they did what God’s “counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28). It is also true, as Paul said, that in condemning Jesus, the Jews “fulfilled” the Scriptures (Acts 13:27). Yet, this did not relieve them of one mote of responsibility. Peter told the people they had to repent of their deed, ordained or not! No one can claim they sinned according to God’s will, and are therefore not responsible for their deed.
HE SHALL RISE AGAIN. Man does not have the last word! This is particularly true when it comes to Jesus. By rejecting and condemning Jesus, the people thought they were breaking loose from the restraints they felt in His presence (Psa 2:3). But nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus said He would “rise again,” and He did. He took back the life that He had laid down – which accounts for why they were able to “killHim.” For those who are aligned with the living God, the worst is never the last! The resurrection of Christ confirms that. It also is the reason for Divine power being toward the redeemed (Eph 1:19-20), the effectiveness of our own baptism (1 Pet 3:21), and is a pledge of our own resurrection from the dead (1 Cor 6:14). His resurrection confirmed He is the Son of God with power (Rom 1:4), and is the appointed means through which we are born again (1 Pet 1:3). God had the last word!
THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND. Luke adds, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” (Luke 18:34). These things would not become clear to them until Jesus was enthroned at the right hand of God, and opened their understanding. Academic knowledge was of no help here.