Matthew 26:1-2
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
The “all these things” that Matthew references is the set of parables and teaching Jesus offered his disciples while they were gathered together on the Mount of Olives. After Jesus said that the time would soon come when the Temple would be destroyed, they asked him when these things would happen. In response, he looks forward to a time of tribulation and challenge and urges his followers to keep watch, ready for his return and caring for the vulnerable in the meantime.
And now that he has described the coming challenges, he is ready to enter into them. Moreover, now that he has taught his followers all about the “ethics of the kingdom” – a discussion that started all the way back in the Sermon on the Mount and culminates in his parable about taking care of “the least of these” – Jesus now demonstrates just what that looks like. For now it is time to inaugurate God’s kingdom, though in a way none of his disciples had expected.
Make no mistake: Jesus is not taken by surprise by what happens to him at Jerusalem. He has seen his fate a long way off and marched steadily and steadfastly toward it. He has told his disciples before what awaits him. And now he tells them again, asserting that they “know” this but also recognizing that they cannot imagine it will really take place.
But he knows. No doubt there were countless opportunities for him to turn aside, to choose another path, to take an easier route. But he does not. Instead, he merely tells his disciples one more time what is about to happen, and then walks the path before him so that we do not have to.
Prayer: Dear God, fasten our eyes on the journey your Son takes that we may see the depth of your love for us and all the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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