Follow The Leader
I was reading Mark 10 today and I noticed some deep instructions and examples.
They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.” (Mark 10:32-34)
“Jesus was walking on ahead”
Jesus knows all. He has a plan and every action of His is in fulfillment of this plan. His plan also includes instructions and an example for us.
In this moment, Jesus was walking into Jerusalem where He knew the Pharisees and other religious leaders were waiting to kill Him. He also knew that He had to go to Jerusalem, be beaten, crucified, die, and rise from the dead in order to pay the penalty for our sins, so we could be reconciled to Him. He bravely did what He had to do to fulfill His purpose.
“They were amazed”
Jesus’s disciples were amazed that Jesus was walking ahead of them into Jerusalem. They couldn’t believe He would walk so openly and confidently into almost certain death. They had to be thinking, “What is He doing?”, “Doesn’t He realize how dangerous this is?”, and “Are we going to die, too?”
“Those who followed”
Despite the fact that Jesus’s disciples understood the danger, but didn’t understand what Jesus was doing, they continued to follow Jesus. They were afraid; they were confused; they had doubts; but they followed their leader Jesus where ever He led.
They “were fearful”
They feared what would happen to Jesus. They feared what would happen to themselves. They feared what would happen to their hopes and dreams of the Messiah’s triumph over the Romans. They feared what would happen if the followed and they feared what would happen if they didn’t. They were filled with fear, but still they followed because they trusted Jesus.
What Would Happen to Jesus
As Jesus’s disciples followed Him with trembling hearts, minds, and legs, Jesus then began to tell of the terrible things that would soon happen to Him. He didn’t withhold the truth to protect them. He gave them the whole unvarnished truth.
What Jesus told them was so terrible and so contrary to their every hope, dream, and expectation that their minds refused to comprehend His clear message. Jesus knew they wouldn’t accept it now, but knowing the truth ahead of time would help them afterwards when they remembered His words.
Too often we hide unpleasant truths or “soften” the “truth” so we don’t hurt people’s feelings or make them uncomfortable, but Jesus demonstrated that we should tell the whole truth.
What Would Happen to His Disciples
Right after this, James and John ask Jesus for the honor of sitting on His right and left hand in heaven, but Jesus instead promises them, “… The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.” (Mark 10:39) Effectively He promised them that they would also be rejected, tortured, and/or killed.
Jesus had a habit of telling the truth, even when it was unpleasant and even when it was likely to drive followers away.
One time when He was walking “… along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Luke 9:58-59) This was definitely not the words of a man trying to get as many followers as possible.
He also said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20) {emphasis mine} He promised His followers that they would be hated and persecuted.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:21-23) {emphasis mine} Notice Jesus did not say “IF they persecute you,” but said “WHENEVER they persecute you.” He basically guaranteed them all that they would be persecute and they would be “hated by all.”
Despite all of these promises that He would be tortured and killed and that they would suffer almost as badly, these disciples followed Jesus into danger. Before Jesus’s death, they didn’t fully understand what they were walking into, but after His resurrection, they knew. Still they followed. They followed even when they were afraid. They followed even when they didn’t understand the purpose. They followed Jesus even when they knew that persecution and death were a sure thing.
What about you? Are you willing to follow Jesus when you are afraid, when you don’t understand why, and when you know there will be a painful earthly outcome? Can you see the eternal good? Do you keep your eyes on Jesus? Do you keep your eyes on the prize?
May the gracious Savior lead you through trials, persecutions, and moments when we just can’t see the way. May He build our faith and trust, so we are willing to follow Jesus where ever He leads and when ever He leads.
Trust Jesus
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