Walking Towards Suffering

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. 

Mark 10:32a

Jesus knows what awaits Him in Jerusalem. He knows He will be betrayed. He knows He will be arrested and condemned to die. He knows He’ll be mocked. He knows He’ll be spit on. He knows He’ll be flogged. And he knows He’ll die. And yet verse 32 says that Jesus is “leading the way.”

Look at the courage of your Savior! Jesus isn’t a coward who has to be drug to the place of His death by His disciples. Nor is He a foolish man who walks toward His death unknowingly. No! Jesus knows exactly what’s in store for Him yet He’s “leading the way.” Jesus bravely marches toward His death for your benefit. No one took His life from Him. He laid it down.

But now look at the disciples. The passage says the disciples “were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.” ‌‌It seems the disciples are finally starting to understand that Jesus is in danger and that they could even be in danger themselves. That’s why they are so shocked is because Jesus is willingly travelling towards certain pain and persecution.

‌‌It occurs to me that all of us, in one way or another, are walking towards suffering. Suffering, in one form or another, is in every one of our futures. It may be cancer. It may be a financial crisis. It may be the loss of a job or a relational conflict. It may even be death.

The question isn’t “Will you suffer?” It’s “How will you walk toward that suffering when it appears?” Will you walk bravely toward it like Jesus did? Or will you walk toward it in an astonished and terrified way like the disciples did?

So many Christians are surprised, shocked, caught of guard or even overwhelmed when suffering comes their way.‌‌ But Jesus shows us a better way. And we can follow His example because we know that whatever suffering enters our lives has been allowed by God and will be used by Him. Either He will bring glory to Himself by carrying us through this suffering or He will bring us to glory after our death.

Either way, the old song get’s it right when it says, 

Because He lives

I can face tomorrow

Because He lives

All fear is gone

Because I know

He holds the future

And life is worth the living

Just because He lives

(lyrics written by Gloria and Bill Gaither)