Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

What this passage tells me is that Jesus knew God’s plan for his life. He was on a mission and the end of the mission was coming. This prophecy is telling in its detail and its fulfillment. Jesus prophecies here, as the prophets of old had prophesied before him, so many times about his life, about his death and his resurrection. Prophecy is one way God puts his stamp on the events of our lives.

So why does he tell his disciples this ahead of time? They could worry, they could stress, they could cause lots of problems. Many times, it’s best to just let people experience the challenges in life and not tell them ahead of time. But in this case, Jesus did this to increase their faith. He wanted them to see that he was faithful and God was faithful, even when they were unfaithful.

The spiritual battles they would face through Jesus‘s death on the cross, and after his resurrection would be intense. He wanted them to know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that he was God’s Son.

He says it in a very straightforward way, and sometimes it is the best way to articulate hardship. Who will I prepare for the hardships of life: My children and my wife? My friends and extended family?

Lord, thank you for Jesus. He is so intentional. He spoke and taught and modeled a life where he thought first of others even in times of his own extreme hardship. Help me to intentionally invest in others and help to build their faith.