They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Comment: A couple of days ago Peter had clearly stated that Jesus was the promised Christ of Jehovah God. Immediately following that statement we read, “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again”. Three of them had been on the mountain top when Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah and God audible spoke from heaven. How on earth did they not understand at least a fair percentage of what Jesus now repeated?
And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Comment: We are just over half way through Mark’s gospel. In the 11th chapter we are up to the last week of Jesus life on earth! But already Jesus is talking to them again about His coming death and his rising after being killed. They walked and talked from the base of Tabor mountain (Mount of Transfiguration) through Galilee until they arrived in Capernaum. The mountain is about 18 km West of the lake and Capernaum is a little way down the Western side of Lake Galilee, so they had plenty of time to talk, ask questions and discuss with Jesus or between themselves. Surely the disciples knew that they were walking with Someone with whom the authorities didn’t agree! They must have known, as Jews, that the title which Jesus used about Himself was an OT word describing the One whom God was to send! One wonders if the whole discussion about who was the greatest didn’t arise because they believed that Jesus would be killed and were jockeying for leadership to follow on after Jesus was ‘killed’. Jesus knew about what they had been talking. They were ashamed of themselves! Jesus didn’t need to chide them. Their guilty consciences had done that. I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t accuse them of not listening carefully enough nor of lack of compassion etc. He used the time to very practically teach the lesson of serving as to what the Kingdom of God emphasizes strongly! Jesus used a little child to teach them – humility; servanthood; what they should have done; and how our service humbly given to our neighbour affects Him.
Isaiah 1: 17 – learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Prayer: Please preserve me from self-centeredness and help me to be like You, Jesus, in my attitudes to others.
As I read it! 