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Foreshadowing of the Cross
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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.”
But the disciples did not grasp His words. They were focused
on the poverty, humiliation, and suffering. Did this mean that they
would not see their Lord exalted to the throne of David? Could it be
that Christ would be despised, rejected, and put to death? Sadness
filled their hearts, for it seemed unbelievable that the Son of God
would suffer such cruel humiliation. Why should He voluntarily go
to Jerusalem to meet the treatment He would receive there? How
could He resign Himself to such a fate and leave them in greater
darkness than they were groping in before He revealed Himself to
them?
The disciples reasoned that in the region of Caesarea Philippi
Christ had nothing to fear from the hatred of the Jews or from the
power of the Romans. Why not work there? Why give Himself up
to death? If He were to die, how could He establish His kingdom so
firmly that the gates of hell would not prevail against it? This was
indeed a mystery.
Even now they were traveling toward the city where all their
hopes were going to be crushed. They talked together in low, sor-
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rowful tones about the future. Perhaps some unforeseen event might
avert the doom that seemed in store for their Lord. In this way, they
doubted, hoped, and feared for six long, gloomy days.
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