Mark 10:32-34
Have
you ever noticed that people in the same crowd, heading the same direction, can
have such different experiences of the journey? If you have ever been in a line
waiting to get on a rollercoaster, you have probably seen this. Some in the line
are excited, almost jumping out of their skin. They can’t wait for their turn.
Others are standing in the same line are constantly scanning for their escape
route. They don’t want to get on the ride, since they feel it will end in their
death! Same line, different experiences.
Mark
continues to tell us of Jesus’ journey to the Cross. Jesus has weaved his way
around that part of the world, crisscrossing and doubling back to spread the
Good News of God’s presence among them, and of the hope that would come through
faith in Him. Jesus is on the final leg of His journey. And He is not alone.
His disciples and others who seemed to stick close to Him. There were more than
just twelve who witnessed what Jesus did. They are part of this crowd.
There
are two distinct reactions in this group that follows Jesus. The disciples are
astonished. We don’t know the object of their astonishment. We don’t know if it
is Jesus’ lack of fear as He travels, or the presence of the large crowd, or something
totally different. All we know is that they were astonished.
The
crowd was afraid. Afraid of what, we don’t know. I don’t know about you, but if
I am in a crowd, and I feel afraid, I get out of the crowd. I am not a brave
soul. I don’t like pain. I don’t like staying in a state of fear. My heart
doesn’t like it!
Jesus
must be aware of this divergence of opinion and experience among those who are
walking that day. He wants to make sure His disciples have their heads screwed
on correctly. He wants to make sure the events of the coming days don’t take
them by surprise.
And
Jesus wants to again try and make it clear that Jerusalem will seem like the
end, but it really is only the beginning. The process of those final hours will
be horrendous, but what they call the end won’t be His end. We know from the
rest of the story that the disciples still didn’t get it. They were still
stuck.
There
is often a divergence between the will of God and our will. Wise followers of
Jesus look for those divergence points and purposely chose God’s will. We can’t
drift through those intersections and end up on God’s path. If we drift, we
will end up missing God’s will.