Matthew 20:18, commentary and pictures

On His final journey up to Jerusalem Jesus drew the twelve apart by the way to foretell that He would be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes and be rejected and condemned by them to death, then be delivered to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify, be buried, and rise on the third day, in fulfillment of what the prophets had predicted concerning Him. This was plain, wonderful, repeatedly given instruction while He was yet with them, saying everything encouraging He could to prepare them so their faith would not die when He died and they would believe when it came to pass rather than give way to sorrow and hopeless discouragement. The disciples did not understand or accept it at the time because they expected a temporal kingdom, and being overwhelmed with sorrow at the suffering foretold they missed its hope and forgot the promise of resurrection, so when He died they were overwhelmed with sorrow without hope and shaken in faith. After He was crucified, buried, and raised on the third day they believed and were made steadfast, the women who had come with spices to anoint a dead body remembered His words when the angel declared He is risen as He said and saw His glory made clear, and Joseph and Nicodemus who had watched Him without openly accepting Him remembered His foretelling and took their stand firmly as believers. Judas repeated this private saying to the rulers who mocked it and called Him a deceiver, yet after His death the priests recognized the words as plain prophecies already in part fulfilled, trembled at the promise to rise the third day for fear they would answer for their crime before Him as judge, and had the tomb sealed and guarded until the third day.

Setting and Prediction

On His final journey up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the twelve apart by the way to tell them His future. The Son of man would be betrayed to the chief priests and unto the scribes, and rejected and condemned by them and the rulers to death. The betrayal was to place Him in their hands, and their part was to condemn Him to die.

The fuller foretelling continued that He would be delivered to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. He would be buried, and would rise on the third day. This completed prediction joined suffering and death to certain resurrection, making the third-day rising part of the same plain word as the condemnation and crucifixion.

This was plain instruction, wonderful instruction, repeatedly given while He was yet with them, never to lose its force. He said everything encouraging He could to prepare them for that time, so their faith would not die when He died on the cross. It was given so they would see light amid darkness and believe when it came to pass, rather than give way to sorrow and apparently hopeless discouragement. The events so foretold fulfilled the prophets' predictions concerning the Son of man.

Responses and Fulfillment

The Twelve did not understand or accept His plain words at the time, because they expected Him to establish a temporal kingdom and reign as a prince, and their refusal to believe left them unprepared for what followed. Overwhelmed with sorrow at the suffering foretold, they missed the hope and comfort in the promise and forgot the certain promise that He would rise the third day. They did not grasp that He had told them beforehand that the priests and rulers would reject and condemn Him and that He would suffer death, until the events themselves had taken place.

Because they forgot His words, when He died they were overwhelmed with sorrow without hope, disheartened and shaken in faith. After Christ was rejected, condemned, scourged, crucified, buried and raised on the third day, the disciples believed. The experience of seeing Him and hearing Him open the Scriptures gave them much knowledge and made them steadfast against the theories of the scribes and Pharisees.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had listened to His teachings and closely watched His ministry without openly accepting Him while He lived, but they remembered His foretelling well. The scenes connected with His death proved to them that He was the true Messiah and led them to take their stand firmly as believers in Him. The women coming to the tomb had likewise forgotten that when He spoke of His death He also said He would rise again, and did not expect a resurrection, bringing spices to anoint a dead body. When the angel declared He is risen as He said, they remembered His words and saw no more need for the spices, their understanding was enlarged, many things that had appeared incomprehensible became clear, and they saw the deep and broad character of the Master's glory.

Judas repeated this private saying to the Jewish rulers, who mocked and ridiculed it and called Jesus a deceiver. After His death the priests and rulers recognized His words as plain prophecies whose events leading to His death had occurred and been fulfilled so far, though they did not want to face their meaning. They could not forget the foretelling of resurrection though they wanted to, but believed it and trembled, seeing in it proof that Jesus was the Son of God, and it troubled them more in His death than in His life. When the death had in part fulfilled the words and the people clamored for the mighty Healer who healed the sick and raised Lazarus, the priests remembered the promise to rise the third day and were horrified with fear that He would rise from the dead as He had said. They feared that they would answer for their crime and be called as accusers before Him as judge, which drove them to have the tomb sealed and guarded until the third day.