The Road Ahead

And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.   Mark 10:32

Amazed – Do you think that following Jesus is just perfectly clear?  After all, He is the Son of God.  Of course you will follow Him.  It’s obvious.  So you start out, close behind the Master, enjoying the stroll.  Then, one day, He turns toward something you did not expect.  He turns toward suffering and death.  He turns toward the place of rejection, sorrow and fear.  And He just keeps on walking.  But now your steps are not quite as strong.  You see the inevitable end.  It isn’t the way you thought things would go.  And you begin to lag behind.  Oh, you can still see Him, striding toward a destiny of destruction.  He’s still there, just up ahead, marking the trail.  But now you’re not so sure about this path.  It doesn’t look so bright and cheery.  You just can’t understand why Jesus would take this road when there are so many other less difficult ways.  Have you been on this path?  Have you watched Jesus at the top of the hill motioning for you to come on, but you know that just over that rise are terrible things waiting for you?

Now you know what the disciples felt when they were amazed.  The verb is thambeo – to be astonished or amazed.  Why were these disciples so stunned?  If we know the gospel accounts, we know the answer.  Jesus was marching to His death!  Instead of hanging back or playing guerrilla tactics, Jesus walked right into the trap – on purpose!  The stunning reality was that Jesus knew what was going to happen and not only did nothing to avoid it, but actually took steps to propel it.  The next time you read the gospel accounts of the last few weeks of Jesus’ life, ask yourself who is the active agent.  It’s not the enemy.  It’s Jesus.  He moves the entire storyline forward.  He is in charge, pushing the enemies to act.  He moves the scene toward the cross with purposed destiny.  No wonder they were amazed.  What human being would initiate and sustain actions that were determined to lead to torture and death.

If you’re on the road with Jesus, don’t be surprised to see Him take a turn for the worse.  He has an agenda set by obedience to the Father.  We often have no idea why He is going in His chosen direction.  We are amazed that He seems to boldly step into the face of danger and death.  We are afraid (the next emotion) that He will take us down to the grave with Him.  But He is still too compelling to turn away.

We could stop.  It’s safe right here.  We could retreat.  It was safer over there.  But then Jesus will disappear over the hill and we will be left in the road by ourselves.  Is it better to be side-by-side with Him as He takes us toward ego destruction, or to be standing alone in the safety zone?

There He is, at the top of the hill.  What are you going to do now?