Luke 18:31-34 - A Third Time!

“Jesus predicts His death a third time” is the heading in my Bible for these 4 verses from Luke’s Gospel. A third time!! How often does He have to tell His disciples this message? The first two times were both in Luke chapter 9. But here it is again in great detail – we are going to Jerusalem, Jesus would be turned over to the Gentiles, they will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.

Incredibly, after the third time of telling, v 34 tells us “The disciples did not understand any of this”. This was not what they were expecting. The road to victory for them was not designed to lead to death on a cross. But Jesus told them, “Everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled”. It wouldn’t be long before they would dramatically understand the difficult message Jesus had for them.

The passage clearly demonstrates Jesus’ knowledge of what lay ahead, in great detail. He knew the suffering He would have to endure, but He also knew that “on the third day, He will rise again.” Luke 9:51 tells us “As the time approached for Him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem”. Other versions tell us He was “determined” or “steadfast” to go to Jerusalem, despite all that lay ahead.

What can we take from these 4 verses?

Jesus won!