“As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside privately and said to them on the way, ‘Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the experts in the law. They will condemn him to death.’” —Matthew 20:17–19
One would certainly be incorrect in saying that Jesus did not prepare His disciples ahead of time for His betrayal, beatings, death, and resurrection. It’s just that they didn’t seem to really get it. Perhaps they simply did not want to believe His warnings. We find earlier in Matthew Jesus’ words to them regarding what was about to take place—verifying once more that Jesus was not taken by surprise by anything that happened. He willingly gave of Himself to save us.
“For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” —Matthew 12:40
“From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: ‘God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!’” —Matthew 16:21–22
“When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they became greatly distressed.” —Matthew 17:22–23
Surely, Jesus was in control of His life. No one took it from Him—He willingly gave it. He was sacrificially obedient to the will of God. His death was wholly voluntary and on our behalf. He was not a helpless pawn unable to save himself. John records our Lord’s words proclaiming His Sovereign authority over His own destiny:
“This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.” —John 10:17–18
Freedom is costly is it not? The Lord Jesus paid the greatest price for our freedom—ransoming our souls from the pit of Hell through His death on the cross. Christ—the Great Liberator—came to set the captives free from the bondage of sin and death. He liberated us from chains of decay and brought us into the glorious freedom.
Paul warns us against our being yoked again to slavery. As believers we are to stand firm in the freedom and liberty that Christ has fully and completely provided. We are not to choose to live a life of slavery to sin:
“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” —Galatians 5:1
God’s mighty strength sustains us, supports us, and holds us steady, lifting us high above the fears and concerns that drag us down. His hand has us firmly and lovingly in its grasp. This is the hand of the One who cherishes us, the One who died for us.
Become More
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you! Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you—yes, I help you—yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!” —Isaiah 41:10
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” —1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Further Reflections
“Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son. ‘Ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God.” —Dietrich Bonheoffer
“If there be ground for you to trust your own righteousness, then all that Christ did to purchase salvation … is vain.” —Jonathan Edwards