Matthew 20:17-19
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Sit comfortably and breathe deeply for a few seconds before you begin. As you breathe in, say the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Read Matthew 20:17-19 noting the change in Jesus’ tone.
Twice before Jesus has shared openly with his disciples about his coming suffering, death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21 and 17:22-23), but now there is an increased urgency in his message. He is headed “up to Jerusalem” and he knows that his time with the disciples is limited. The ultimate act of mercy and grace, undeserved and unearned by humanity, is imminent.
Stop to contemplate the slowly shifting thinking that the disciples are undergoing. They have heard multiple teachings on the upside-down, first-will-be-last nature of the Kingdom of God, and now the rabbi-leader to whom they have given their loyalty again tells them that apparent defeat awaits him in Jerusalem before he will be “raised from the dead.” Try to imagine how they might be trying to construct some kind of understanding about what Jesus is telling them.
Share your thoughts with Jesus.
Read Matthew 20:17-19 again.
In spite of their inability to completely grasp either the nature of the Kingdom of God or the explanation of the events awaiting Jesus in Jerusalem, the disciples stay with him. There is something so compelling about Jesus that they are willing to follow him even though he is upending their framework for understanding the world.
Perhaps this is the pattern for every follower of Jesus. We are drawn to him by some inexplicable longing, we listen to his teaching and struggle to understand and internalize it, and eventually, at least for a time, we let go of our constant need for everything to make sense. We simply follow him wherever he leads us, because somewhere in our deepest selves we recognize that he is our life.
As you near the end of this meditation, take some time to reflect on the ways you have changed over the past several months or years as you have followed Jesus. Turn these thoughts into a prayer as you share this journey with Jesus and thank him for the mercy and grace he has poured out on you.
Is there anything in particular that Jesus might want you to remember or do today?
Will you?
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