Exceeding Sorrow to Exceeding Joy
Matthew 17:22-23 (NKJV):
22 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,
23 and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up. And they were exceedingly sorrowful.
When Jesus explained to His disciples in a few short words that He was going to be betrayed, killed, and resurrected from the grave, they were exceedingly sorrowful. This Man they loved so dearly, Who they had committed their lives to, was speaking of betrayal and death. However, Jesus had already told the disciples that this would happen.
In the previous chapter, Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to be killed and raised on the third day, to which Peter rebukes Him in chapter 16, verse 22, saying, “Far be it from You Lord, this shall not happen to You!”
In one sense, we can understand the exceeding sorrow taking place in Peter’s heart at the thought of his Lord suffering such terrible things, being betrayed, and killed. But in another sense, this is Peter’s problem! He is only focused on suffering and death, not paying attention to the end result of it all.
That’s why Jesus told him that he was “not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” in verse 23. Peter and the other disciples were still thinking about the physical aspect of Christ’s prediction, not the spiritual. You wouldn't think this would be a problem for first-hand witnesses of the miraculous works of The Christ.
With time, they would understand their ignorance, but for now, the idea of Jesus’s death was more than they could comprehend.
When we think about the suffering of Christ, it makes us sad. We often shed a tear reading about His anguish and pain. We know that He did it all for us. We have victory in the resurrection! Jesus conquered the grave. He did just as he told His disciples He would do. He rose again on the third day!
Our exceeding sorrow in His death transforms to exceeding joy in His resurrection!
1 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV):
“And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.”
- Eric Bullock, Evangelist
