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Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 239

The Second Announcement of the Death of Christ

Text: Matthew 17 : 14 - 28

The very first time Jesus announced His suffering and death to His disciples, there was a strong and severe reaction from Peter. He could not accept it, and resisted the idea of His death! He was very wrong, of course, for he could not understand that Christ’s death was a part of God’s plan of salvation for mankind! To resist that plan was to go against God’s will! Peter was promptly chastised for his aggressive error!

Once again, Jesus brought up the subject of His suffering and death to His disciples.

“Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
‘The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men,
and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.’
And they were exceedingly sorrowful.”
MATTHEW 17:22-23

Why did Jesus speak about His death once again? Let us consider the following reasons:-

1. To reinforce the truth

The disciples did not understand the significance of Jesus speaking of His death, the first time He said it. That showed up a number of things:-

a) They had not understood the Scriptures

The Scriptures were clear and specific concerning the death of the Messiah-Servant of God. The prophecy found in Isaiah 53, for example, graphically described how He would suffer at the hands of wicked men!

b) They had not accepted the truth

The disciples could not accept the truth because they were too emotionally attached to Jesus. It was right that they loved Jesus, but that love for their Master must include comprehension and obedience to the will of God! The disciples could not comprehend nor obey the Scriptures the first time they heard Jesus speaking of His death.

2. To test the Disciples

Had the disciples progressed further in their understanding of the death of Jesus? Had they accepted the fact that their beloved Master had to suffer and die?

a) The disciples had accepted the facts

The disciples had to yield to the powerful truth that Jesus had presented to them! They had no choice but to accept the death of Jesus as within the will of God. To resist this will was deemed sinful! Jesus taught the disciples that the devil himself would inveigle and ensnare them into his ideas if they were not discerning!

b) They were still struggling emotionally

The disciples felt a great sense of sorrow in their hearts as Jesus brought up the subject of His death. They roughly sensed why He had done that! They knew that His death would be far more imminent than they would have preferred it to be. They could accept that Jesus had to die as the Lamb of God for the sins of he world, but the sense of sorrow they felt in their hearts was deep and heavy. They did not know how to cope with the death of their beloved Master. The thought of His death brought exceeding sorrow to their hearts!

3. To create a sense of urgency to learn their lessons well

Another reason may be suggested as to why Jesus brought up the subject of His death.

a) The need to develop faith

The recent failure of the disciples was a grim reminder of the fact that their faith was not up to par! Time and again, the disciples had been rebuked for having but “a little faith”. They must put in a whole lot more work to develop their faith! What would they do, if they were to handle things on their own, without Jesus coming to their rescue?

b) The need to embrace the many challenges of the ministry

The challenges of the ministry were very real. The disciples saw how Jesus ministered to the multitudes. They saw Him battling the Pharisees and the Sadducees again and again. They also appreciated the need to make disciples of believers! They knew that all these challenges would one day be their responsibilities!

There was so much to learn. There was much knowledge to obtain. There were many skills to learn! There were souls to be saved. There were spiritual battles with demons to be fought. They must learn all that they could – in the shortest time possible! And time was not on their side. Time was running out! Jesus had to remind them that soon He would die at the hands of His enemies in Jerusalem! They must do their utmost to prepare themselves for the ministries ahead!

A NEW ELEMENT OF THOUGHT

At the second announcement of His suffering and death, Jesus added a new element.

“The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”
MATTHEW 17:22

This new thought had not impacted them at this stage of time. Their thoughts were filled with sorrow because they dwelt on the death of their beloved Teacher. That one of the twelve could betray Jesus was a totally alien thought. They could not imagine how one of them could end up as a traitor! Surely that was impossible? How could that be? Jesus did not elaborate on this subject at this point of time. As a wise Master-Teacher He knew just how much He should teach at any point of time.