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!

“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!” (Matthew 20:19, NIV)

   Those are the words of Jesus. He is prophesying and foretelling His sufferings and crucifixion which were about to take place. His words show that Jesus already knew what He was going to face. He was determined to go to Jerusalem and He knew what was going to happen in Jerusalem. In spite of His knowledge about the things to happen He still decided that He should go to Jerusalem.

   Would any intelligent person behave in this manner? Would you go to a certain place if you knew that somebody was planning to kill you there? If you knew for sure that you will be going to be tortured unto death in a certain town, would you still venture going there? Certainly not! No intelligent person in his sound mind would take such a risk.

   Why then Jesus decided to go to Jerusalem? He decided to go to Jerusalem because He wanted to fulfill the Scriptures. He was willing to be crucified because that was the only way mankind could be saved from hell. He deliberately had decided to go to Jerusalem because He loved us more than He loved His own life. The salvation of mankind was more important to Him than His own comfort, pleasure and His very life.

   Right now we are observing the Lent and we do well to remind ourselves how much Jesus loved us. We must also take time to examine our own hearts to see whether we are reciprocating the same love towards Jesus. Jesus was willing to die for us. The cruel Crucifixion of Jesus was not an unexpected mishap. It was planned before the foundation of the earth was laid. Jesus came with the very purpose of dying for us. Jesus was fully prepared mentally to undergo all that agony, pain and shame! He died and rose up again for us. What are we doing for Him? Are we indifferent towards Jesus? Do we ever really thank Him for what He has done? Do we speak about His love to our friends and relatives during this Lent season? Let us re-examine our spiritual attitudes and do justice to our own conscience by rededicating ourselves to serve Jesus. God bless you!