‘And he took to him the twelve, and said to them, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets will be accomplished to the Son of man.” '
Jesus now recognised more clearly than ever that His time was approaching. For quite some time He had lived with His eyes ever fixed on His final end in Jerusalem. But now that end was rapidly approaching. And He took the twelve to one side and informed them of His expectations. This was a secret reserved for them. They were approaching Jerusalem, and as far as He was concerned it would be for the last time, for now the things clearly written about Him in the Scriptures must come to fulfilment. The Shepherd must be smitten and the sheep scattered (Zechariah 13:7). The Servant must be arraigned and condemned and suffer for the sins of others (Isaiah 50:3-8; Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12). The Son of David must be pierced and made mock of (Psalms 22:12-18). The Son of Man must suffer under the beasts (where the suffering of the ‘son of man' is depicted in terms of the suffering of the people of the Most High) (Daniel 7). And this had been even more reinforced by the fact that a prophet could not die outside Jerusalem (Luke 13:33).