Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day, he will be raised to life!”

Matthew 20:17 – 19

As believers in our Lord Jesus Christ we must get used to things that, from the human point of view, do not make much sense.  This is a good example, I think.  Jesus is talking almost incessantly about the coming of his long-promised Kingdom of Heaven that is now appearing.  Dear reader, who could imagine a king inaugurating his reign like this?  I have never heard the like in all my study of history.  This does not sound like a king at all.

How can this be?  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.  His fellow Jews, their most holy people, their chief priests and teachers of the law will condemn him to death!  Kill the king?  That is what we read.  His fellow Jews reject him, with vehemence, not only rejecting him but determined to hand him over to the Roman Gentiles who will mock, flog and crucify him with their gleeful consent and urging.

Who can imagine such a thing?  Is this the way Jesus is establishing his kingdom on the earth?  The answer is a resounding, yes!  Kings conquer and rule, do they not? Jesus is tortured mercilessly and hung on a cross – destroyed.

It is no wonder that so many people find Jesus an enigma.  Kings do not act like that!

Getting back to Jesus’ own words – the cross is not the end of the story but the beginning!  He declares as he faces going up to Jerusalem to be crucified that, On the third day, he will be raised to life!”  God’s ways are not our ways!  We need the help of the Spirit of God to even begin to understand all this.  We stand in awe and worship.  This is new!  New yeast has entered the dough.  It is Lent.