Hello there!
Today, let’s take a look at how Jesus predicted His own crucifixion:
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
— Mark 8:31
After Peter’s confession of who Christ is, Jesus immediately goes on to tell His disciples about the events that would soon take place.
Mark tells us that Jesus began to teach them. The content of this teaching is striking. Jesus outlined, step by step, the events that were about to unfold. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that everything He foretold came to pass exactly as He said.
First, Jesus tells them that the Son of Man must suffer many things.
Here, Jesus is pointing to the fact that He would be captured by the high priest and tortured by Roman soldiers. Up to this point, we had already seen several instances where the Pharisees and Sadducees stood against Jesus and His teaching. Their defiance, hatred, and malice toward Him stemmed from His claim to be God, but also because His teaching directly contradicted theirs. In other words, Jesus was a threat to their authority and power.
This is not unlike what we see today. Whenever the teachings of Scripture challenge the authority of certain leaders or societal norms, the natural instinct of man is to undermine the authority of the Bible.
We saw this in the Enlightenment era of the 18th century, when people continually questioned the Bible in order to diminish its authority.
It is a common instinct to twist what the Bible says in order to maintain authority and autonomy apart from the God of the Bible.
Paul describes this in his letter to the Romans:
For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
— Romans 1:21–23
In today’s world, whenever society is confronted with issues that Scripture clearly condemns as sinful, people are quick to change or outright reject the plain meaning of the Word. This is evident in matters such as abortion, sexuality, racism, marriage, parenthood, and more.
Jesus continues by teaching that the Son of Man would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and then be killed.
In a similar way, when people encounter difficult truths in God’s Word, their instinct is often outright rejection. We see this today in attempts to diminish the authenticity of Scripture or to question the historicity of Jesus Christ.
As a result, many self-professing Christians are more feelings-driven than Bible-driven. They elevate personal experiences above the written Word of God. This, too, is a rejection of God’s Word—just as the Pharisees, scribes, and religious leaders rejected Jesus and plotted His death.
But Jesus adds something remarkable to His prediction: after being killed, the Son of Man would rise again on the third day.
This was a clearer statement of His resurrection than His earlier references. For example, when the Pharisees asked for a sign, Jesus had pointed to Jonah:
But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
— Matthew 12:39–40
At the time, this sign was difficult to understand. But here, Jesus plainly foretold His death and resurrection so that His disciples could grasp it.
The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. If Jesus had simply died, He would be no different from any other prophet before Him. But His resurrection proved something utterly unique about Him, setting Him apart from every other prophet and human being.
Paul explains it this way:
He who was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification.
— Romans 4:25
Through Paul, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus’ suffering and death were on account of our sins, and His resurrection declared our justification. Isaiah had foretold this centuries earlier:
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our peace fell upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
— Isaiah 53:4–6
This is something every believer should reflect on and thank God for: Jesus’ suffering on the cross was a substitute for all who believe in Him.
Paul further explains that His resurrection was not just a spectacle but a divine declaration that God had accepted His sacrifice. In other words, Christ’s resurrection confirmed that those who place their faith in Him are justified—declared righteous before God.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way:
Q. 33. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein He pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
If you are a believer, I pray you find comfort in knowing that what Jesus foretold truly happened. By placing your faith in Him, you have peace with God, for your sins have been forgiven and you stand before Him righteous in Christ.
If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus, know that no sin is too great for the grace of God. Repent of your sins and trust in Christ alone for the salvation of your soul.
May the grace of our Lord be with you all. Amen.
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