Matthew 20:18-23
‘Behold…, the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests!… And they shall condemn Him to death! And they shall deliver Him to the Gentiles…, to crucify Him! But the third day, He shall rise again!” Matthew 20:18-19.
Calvin comments: “The Apostles had been informed previously what kind of death awaited our Lord. Yet, as they had not sufficiently profited by it — He now repeats anew what He had frequently said.
“He sees that the day of His death is as hand. Nay more, He is already in a state of readiness to offer Himself to be sacrificed….
“On the other hand, He sees the disciples not only afraid but overwhelmed by blind alarm. He therefore exhorts them to steadiness….
“He confirms them…. He…meets the offence of the cross, by a proof of His divinity…. When they are convinced that He is the Son of God…, (they) therefore (will see that He) will be victorious over death….
“Mark states what is omitted by the other two Evangelists…. Before our Lord explained to His disciples in private that He was going straight to the sacrifice of death, not only they but also the rest of His followers were sorrowful and trembling….
“The reason why He did not publish His death…, (was so) that the report might not spread too widely before the time…. If He had admitted all indiscriminately to this discourse, it was possible that many persons seized with alarm might flee and fill the ears of the public with this report…. Thus the death of Christ would have lost its glory….
“He gives a still more evident proof of His divinity. For He could not — as man — have foreseen that, after having been condemned by the chief priests and scribes, He would be delivered up to the Gentiles and spat on and mocked in various ways and scourged and at length dragged to the punishment of the cross….
“Yet He…, candidly declaring the whole matter, points out the way to overcome temptation. Namely by looking forward with certainty to His resurrection!”
O Christian! Also when we might fear persecution and even death — let us resolutely look forward to our resurrection thereafter! May we realize that our own resurrection is certain, through the resurrection of Christ in our place!
For Christ was not only crucified, but also rose from the dead — for us! And for you?
