Mark 10:33-34

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again" Mark 10:33-34

Writers often us a technique called "foreshadowing" to hint at things to come. Sir Conan Doyle uses such gimmicks to lead the reader in correct - or misleading - paths on the way to the solution of a mystery. Another writer, Angela Lansbury often did the same in the "Murder, a series she wrote for the television. It is a wonderful tool for the fiction writer.

Today we see the same tool used by Jesus as He and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem. To us, it seems that these verses are rather obvious. Jesus is telling His disciples that He will be betrayed into the hands of His enemies. He will be tortured, mocked, ridiculed, beaten, condemned to death, and hung on a cross. He also tells them that He will rise from the grave.

The only problem was that the disciples did not seem to be listening. James and John were seeking a favor of Jesus - "when you come into you kingdom, can we have the places of honor?" They missed the point Jesus was making - totally! Sure, He would have a kingdom - but it would come at a great price. And that kingdom would not be of a nature that they thought. They could see themselves sitting on golden thrones on either side of Jesus' much larger and glorious jewel studded throne. They never heard Jesus say he was about to die.

Surely the others thought James and John were a bit out of line. The ten weren't listening to Jesus either. They were indignant at the request of James and John! Their anger burned towards their toward brothers - and justly so. Those two had been Jesus' favorites from the very beginning. The ten wanted their share of the kingdom too. It's really too bad the twelve didn't listen to the only person worth listening to. It would have certainly helped them understand what would happen in a few short days. They would not have been so frightened when Judas betrayed Jesus. They wouldn't have fled when Jesus was taken captive. Peter might not have denied Jesus three times before dawn on that eventful Friday. Sure, Jesus would die - but the final clause of His statement was so very important: "and three days later He will rise again."

Imagine what would have happened if the disciples had paid attention. The crucifixion could have been a victory celebration. The resurrection an expected climax to a most important week. But they didn't - and they would soon suffer the consequences because they did not hear the foreshadowing statement of their Master.

Jesus often gives us a foreshadowing of what is to come in our lives. Our pastor might be talking about sorrows coming to believers to make us strong. We are drawing cartoons on our bulletin. He tells us to be "prayed up" in advance of the coming troubles. We are telling the kids to quit fighting. Then, when the sermon is over and the invitation sung, we exit the sanctuary thinking the pastor failed to tell us a thing. Three weeks later we wonder why he didn't warn us that the enemy would be having a field day at our expense. If he had only warned us, we would have been praying!

If we can learn anything from today's verses it is this: when God speaks, we had better listen. Amen and Amen.