{"id":26048,"date":"2020-09-15T10:56:37","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T15:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=26048"},"modified":"2020-09-15T10:56:37","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T15:56:37","slug":"jesus-predicting-his-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-predicting-his-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Predicting His Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n

Luke 18-19 chronicles the high point of Jesus\u2019 ministry. He is on His way to Jerusalem, surrounded by an exultant crowd. According to Luke 19:11, the throngs believed that \u201cthe kingdom of God was going to appear right away.\u201d In other words, they anticipated that when Jesus came to Jerusalem, He would set Himself up at King David II and begin the glorious work of booting the Romans out of Jewish territory (and possibly even making the Jews the overlords of the Romans!).<\/p>\n

It is in the midst of this euphoria that Jesus does something very strange. According to Luke 18:31-34, at the peak of His earthly popularity, He pulls the Twelve aside and reveals something to them that He doesn\u2019t want the crowds to hear. Jesus\u2019 trip to Jerusalem isn\u2019t going to end with triumph over the chief priests and Gentiles. Instead, it is going to end with their triumph over Him. They are going to take Him, humiliate Him, and kill Him. After that, He is going to rise from the dead.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, Luke tells us that this does not compute. The Twelve don\u2019t understand it, not the humiliation and death part, and not the resurrection part. Why should it have? It fit into their preconceptions about as well as a fur coat fits into a PETA meeting.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Bible Illustration by Sweet Media<\/p><\/div>\n

Nonetheless, it is extremely important that Jesus predicted both His death and His resurrection. Not even a skeptic has much reason to doubt that He did so. The gospels report that He did so on three separate occasions, and Matthew 27:62-64 reveals that even the Sanhedrin has heard the story. Indeed, they ask Pilate to post the guard at Jesus\u2019 tomb to keep His disciples from helping the fulfillment along themselves.<\/p>\n

As Gary Habermas points out in The Case for the Resurrection<\/em>, these predictions provide vital context for understanding the significance of the risen Christ. We have seen before that the evidence for the resurrection is quite good, even if we take a minimalist approach to the Scriptural witness.<\/p>\n

However, merely accepting the resurrection accounts still leaves us adrift. If I were to die and rise from the dead three days later, that wouldn\u2019t be any reason to build a religion around me. It simply would be a weird, inexplicable thing.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 predictions provide the necessary explanation. It\u2019s one thing to rise from the dead. It\u2019s another thing to claim to be God, predict that you will rise from the dead, and then do so. The claims by themselves are lunacy; the resurrection by itself is incomprehensible. However, claim plus resurrection equals proof that Jesus is the Son of God. Here as elsewhere, the word gives us all the reason we need to believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matthew W. Bassford Luke 18-19 chronicles the high point of Jesus\u2019 ministry. He is on His way to Jerusalem, surrounded by an exultant crowd. According to Luke 19:11, the throngs believed that \u201cthe kingdom of God was going to appear right away.\u201d In other words, they anticipated that when Jesus came to Jerusalem, He…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[73,169,664],"class_list":["post-26048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-jesus","tag-prophecy","tag-resurrection"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42076,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/didnt-jesus-fulfill-the-old-testament-when-he-came-in-the-flesh\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":0},"title":"Didn’t Jesus fulfill the Old Testament when he came in the flesh?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question: Didn't Jesus fulfill the Old Testament when he came in the flesh? Answer: When Jesus was born, the Mosaic law was still in effect. He was circumcised and presented to God as the firstborn male of Mary and Joseph as the old law prescribed: \"And\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-know-he-would-die-by-crucifixion-in-advance\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":1},"title":"Did Jesus know he would die by crucifixion in advance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 3, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did Jesus know he would die by crucifixion in advance? Answer: Yes, he did know. He spoke of being \"lifted up\" which was an allusion to crucifixion where a person is lifted up on a cross. \"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19097,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-luke-2116-and-luke-2118-harmonize\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":2},"title":"How do Luke 21:16 and Luke 21:18 harmonize?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the context of Luke 21:5-19, how would you harmonize 16 and 18? If you take the figurative approach to 18, what do the hair and head represent? Literal? I look forward to your thoughts. Answer: Luke 21 is a parallel account to Matthew 24 and Mark 13, discussing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16806,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-mean-by-green-wood-and-dry-wood\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":3},"title":"What did Jesus mean by “green wood” and “dry wood?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I don't believe I understand Luke 23:27-31 at all. It seems this conversation took place while Jesus was actually on His way to the cross. Would you please explain this further? What is the meaning of the 'green wood' and 'dry wood'? Answer: \"A great multitude of the people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62530,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-glory-of-the-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":4},"title":"The Glory of the Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 16:21-28 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To the dismay of his disciples, Jesus began to speak of his pending death. (See also Mark 8:31-9:1 and Luke 9:21-27) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They did not realize how important that death was to the plans of God, and when Peter declared that God would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91601,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-samaritans-and-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":26048,"position":5},"title":"The Samaritans and Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong If you study the history of the Samaritans and the Jews, particularly noting the events leading up to the time of Jesus, you will see the great animosity between them. 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