And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, Comment: We’re in chapter 10 of a 16 chapter short book and already the hero is going to where in a short time He is going to be killed! and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Comment: I presume that the ‘they’ and the ‘those who followed’ were different groups. I think the ‘they’ were the twelve disciples and the ‘those’ were the mass of people following Jesus as He went around the land. He is now heading towards Jerusalem to His death. The disciples had the right to be amazed as twice in the recent past Jesus had talked about His impending death, and here they were heading towards Jerusalem! The following mass were probably afraid because of the preceding teaching of Jesus about how hard it is to get into heaven! And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” Comment: Now, to the disciples only, Jesus gives a fuller explanation of what is actually going to happen to Him when they arrive there.
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Comment: But the disciples, at least James and John, seem to have only cottoned onto the ‘rising again’ portion of what Jesus said to them. This is so much like we often do, they thought only of what they could get out of all this (what was in it for them!) instead of thinking of what Jesus was about to go through!
Proverbs 11: 24&25 – One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. – Their ‘enriched state’ or their ‘want’ is mainly character-wise and spiritual, not necessarily anything to do with ‘wealth’ but because of their being blessed or denied blessing by God.!
Prayer: Not to earn Your forgiveness but, as I follow Your command to be loving, help me to love my neighbour as myself, dear Lord.
As I read it! 