Amazed and Terrified

Today's reading: Mark 10:32-52

"And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid." - Mark 10:32 ESV

What was it about Jesus walking that was both amazing and terrifying the disciples? Jesus had his game-face on.

R.A. Cole makes a good point in his commentary: "It must have been either a vague sense of foreboding, or else something in the face and manner of Jesus, that awed the noisy quarrelsome band for once."

Jesus wasn't just going to Jerusalem for another verbal dispute with the religious leaders. He was going there for the last time to die for the sins of all humanity. The intensity with which he was walking gave off such a strong vibe to the disciples that they took note. This was the reason he had come in the flesh.

Paul said it like this: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." (Colossians 2:15)

Jesus' journey to the cross would be intense and painful, but he always kept the end in mind. He would finally disarm darkness with permanence. What does this mean for us? It means that we would, at last, have the opportunity to be truly forgiven and sealed for heaven.