Mk.10:32-34 – Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead.”
This is the final trip for Jesus to Jerusalem, the day of His death was drawing near, Jesus had set His face toward Jerusalem, there would be no turning back. The last town Jesus was to pass through on the road to Jerusalem was Jericho. As word spread through town that Jesus was passing through Jericho the crowds began to gather. The expected normal response for anyone else would be anything other than this. As a matter of fact Jesus went out of His way to minister to hurting people up to the very end. In Jericho we meet two unusual yet opposite characters. There is the blind beggar Bartimaeus and the chief of the tax collectors Zacheus. Jesus took time for both, He stopped and healed Bartimaeus and even went to Zacheus’ house for a meal. The blind beggar and the rich tax collectors were in some ways in the same boat. One was extremely poor and the other quite wealthy, they both needed the mercy of God. Here is how Henry describes this moment.
“How bold he was; when they were going up to Jerusalem, Jesus went before them. Now that the time was at hand, more than ever, he pressed forward: Jesus went before them, and they were amazed. They began to consider now what imminent danger they were running into by going to Jerusalem, and they were ready to tremble at the thought of it. To encourage them, therefore, Christ went before them. When we see ourselves entering on suffering, it is encouraging to see our Master go before us. Or, He went before them, and that was why they were amazed; they admired his zeal and cheerfulness as he went. Christ’s courage and faithfulness is and will remain the wonder of all his disciples.”
These two outcastes defined why Jesus was here and why He was determined to go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was all about the cross, the very source of the mercy of God. He was headed to Jerusalem to ransom people like Zacheus and Bartimaeus, and people like you and me. The cross was why He came, and that is why He was so resolute, Jerusalem was where He would go. As Jesus left town His impact was obvious. Zachaeus was going door to door to pay back those he had stolen from and Bartimaeus was following Jesus to Jerusalem. Jericho could never be the same.
