"Must" Means Necessary
Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life." Mark 8:31, TEV.
Must" means necessary. Jesus was telling His disciples that He "must...be put to death." From His perspective, the cross was not an option but mandatory. He had come to earth not only to live a sinless life as our example, but "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45, RSV). "This is my blood of the covenant," He told His disciples at the Last Supper, "which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24, RSV).
Christ's death was central to the plan of salvation. Without His substitutionary death there would be no salvation at all. Because of that necessity He began to teach the disciples plainly. But as the events related to His first attempt make plain, it would be a difficult task.
Why? Because everything in the disciples' background went against it. Their understanding of Messiahship taught plainly that the Messiah would "arise from the posterity of David" to "deliver in mercy the remnant" of God's people and at the same time destroy their enemies (4 Ezra 12:32-34). He would come "to smash the arrogance of sinners like a potter's jar; to shatter all their substance with an iron rod; to destroy the unlawful nations with the word of his mouth" (Ps. of Sol. 17:23, 24).
The Jews knew nothing of a suffering Messiah. As a result, Jesus' proclamation that He must suffer and die caught the disciples totally off guard. No line of reasoning could have led them to conclude that Jesus must die. A suffering Messiah was an impossibility. They were not ready for a Messiah who would perish to save them from their sins. They expected one who would rescue them from their Roman oppressors.
And not understanding the role of the Messiah, they certainly were in no position to capture the meaning of His resurrection--a lack that would later cause them great anguish.
The preconceived ideas they had brought to Scripture blinded the earliest disciples. The same dynamic threatens all of us.
Help us, Lord, to have eyes to see and hearts to believe.
Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life." Mark 8:31, TEV.
Must" means necessary. Jesus was telling His disciples that He "must...be put to death." From His perspective, the cross was not an option but mandatory. He had come to earth not only to live a sinless life as our example, but "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45, RSV). "This is my blood of the covenant," He told His disciples at the Last Supper, "which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24, RSV).
Christ's death was central to the plan of salvation. Without His substitutionary death there would be no salvation at all. Because of that necessity He began to teach the disciples plainly. But as the events related to His first attempt make plain, it would be a difficult task.
Why? Because everything in the disciples' background went against it. Their understanding of Messiahship taught plainly that the Messiah would "arise from the posterity of David" to "deliver in mercy the remnant" of God's people and at the same time destroy their enemies (4 Ezra 12:32-34). He would come "to smash the arrogance of sinners like a potter's jar; to shatter all their substance with an iron rod; to destroy the unlawful nations with the word of his mouth" (Ps. of Sol. 17:23, 24).
The Jews knew nothing of a suffering Messiah. As a result, Jesus' proclamation that He must suffer and die caught the disciples totally off guard. No line of reasoning could have led them to conclude that Jesus must die. A suffering Messiah was an impossibility. They were not ready for a Messiah who would perish to save them from their sins. They expected one who would rescue them from their Roman oppressors.
And not understanding the role of the Messiah, they certainly were in no position to capture the meaning of His resurrection--a lack that would later cause them great anguish.
The preconceived ideas they had brought to Scripture blinded the earliest disciples. The same dynamic threatens all of us.
Help us, Lord, to have eyes to see and hearts to believe.
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