Many of the 31-thousand words attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament were addressed to twelve men. The New Testament calls those men ‘disciples’ and ‘apostles.’ Jesus called them to follow Him for the purpose of making disciples.

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Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

Many liberal and progressive ‘Christians’ say that Jesus didn’t know He was going to die at the hands of the Romans and certainly didn’t know He would rise from the dead. That’s contrary to what Jesus told His disciples on multiple occasions:

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Matthew 16:21

Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful. Matthew 17:22-23

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again. Matthew 20:17-19

Jesus knew specific details of when He would die, how He would die, and on which day after His death He would rise again. Liberal and progressive ‘Christians’ are not telling the truth about Jesus.

We see in Matthew 17 that the apostles were “exceedingly sorrowful” when Jesus told them He was going to be betrayed and killed. That was the second recorded prediction. Peter’s response the first time Jesus told them did not go well for him:

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Matthew 16:22

You may wonder why Jesus was so harsh in his response to Peter. It was an important lesson for the apostles. Jesus had chosen them to speak for Him – to speak the words He gave them to speak. They were to preach His Gospel and speak only the words of God. That’s why Jesus said what He did to Peter a few verses earlier:

He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 16:15-17

Jesus commended Peter because he spoke the words that God the Father had revealed to him. Jesus rebuked Peter a short time later because he spoke the words that came from Satan. Jesus had just revealed to Peter and the other apostles God’s eternal plan for salvation. Satan stood in opposition to God’s plan and Peter fell into the devil’s deceptive trap. Peter verbally opposed God’s plan – “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You.” – and for that Peter received the Lord’s stern rebuke. While it may have had some impact on Peter at the time, he would try to keep Jesus from going to the Cross at a later time (which we’ll see in a later part of this series).

How quickly things changed for Peter. A commendation from Jesus was followed soon after by the Lord’s rebuke. Peter had many more ups and downs to come as he followed Jesus. The same is true for us as well. Discipleship is a journey that is both exciting and costly.

The Cost of Discipleship

After rebuking Peter, Jesus turned to His disciples and said:

‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Matthew 16:24-28

This was not the first time Jesus had talked with His disciples about self-denial and suffering for His sake. It was part of the charge He gave His disciples when He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease:

Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 10:32-39

Does this sound like the “weak, soft” Jesus of liberal and progressive ‘Christianity?’ It does not. Jesus was strong, focused and authoritative in what He said to His disciples.

Discipleship is based on being a follower, a learner and a doer. It’s not just a matter of calling yourself a ‘Christian’ because you were born in a majority Christian nation or because you attend a Christian church from time to time. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means you follow Him and learn from Him. It means you do what He says.

Jesus Transfigured

Many atheists, including myself before becoming a Christian, used Mark 9:1 as a way to ‘prove’ that Jesus was wrong. I didn’t even believe Jesus had existed, but still enjoyed confusing Christians about what’s in the Bible. As it turned out, I was the one who was confused.

Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power. Mark 9:1

Atheists and others point to the impossibility of anyone standing with Jesus in the early part of the first century AD not tasting death until they saw the Kingdom of God. Looks like a slam-dunk for the atheists. Not so fast. Read the next verse:

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. Mark 9:2

So what, you may ask? Keep reading:

His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah— because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. Mark 9:3-10

What we see here is how Jesus would show His disciples the Kingdom of God “present with power” before they tasted death.

  • Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured and witnessed His true glory, the glory of the King.
  • Peter, James and John saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. That represents how the Law and Prophets pointed to Jesus and His Kingdom.
  • Peter, James and John saw a large cloud and heard a voice saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” That points to God the Father’s approval of what Jesus the King was saying and accomplishing on earth.
  • Peter, James and John heard Jesus command them not to tell anyone what they had seen until “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” That’s when the Kingdom of God would be “present with power.”

None of the apostles would “taste death” until they saw the Kingdom of God present with power.

If an atheist or other unbeliever throws a Bible verse at you and says that proves Christianity isn’t true, think it through. Look at the context and be sure you understand the meaning of the words being used (Hebrew and Greek). Feel free to send us your questions and we’ll do our best to give you a helpful answer.

[Podcast version of this study coming soon.]

Next Time

We will look at some of the challenges Jesus had in discipling the disciples in the next part of our special series, And Jesus Said.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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