Matthew 17:22-27
Jesus Predicts His Death a Second Time
22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
I can still remember the day it hit me that my parents would die someday. I was maybe in second grade. After that, I would get anxious if they went for a walk and were gone longer than I thought they should be. If they went out at night, I would stay up late, looking out the window, waiting for them to come home.
Death is not just a fact “out there.” It is a reality that changes us from the inside out.
That kind of transformation is on full display in this passage. Jesus tells his disciples that he will die—and not in a way that looks noble, safe, or victorious. This is too much for them to process, especially because they have just seen Jesus free a young boy from demonic possession. The disciples are beginning to believe that there is a power in Jesus greater than all the usual enemies. This movement is going somewhere.
And they are right. Jesus is more powerful than every enemy, including death. But Jesus’ future—and ours—still includes the valley of death before it includes resurrection morning.
We can see this throughout the rest of the Gospels. The disciples try to manage the risk around Jesus. They try to steer him away from confrontation, dangerous places, and any vision of the Messiah that includes suffering. They are afraid of losing their friend and Lord.
The good news for them—and for us—is that while the fear of death can transform us over the course of our lives, the promise of eternal life can transform us too. On this side of the resurrection, we can look at death honestly. Death is still an enemy. Death is still an end. But it is not the end. In Jesus, God has made a way through death into life everlasting.
That changes us into people of hope instead of fear. People who can trust instead of panic. People who can let go instead of grasping for control.
Thirty-some years later, I still think about the reality that my parents will die someday. But I do not despair, because I know the same Lord who died for our sins was raised for our sake—and for theirs. That hope gives me a peace that is stronger than my fear. My prayer is that it gives you that same peace today.
– Pr. Jason
Jesus, thank you for going to the cross on my behalf so that I may have life, and life eternal. Thank you that this promise is also a gift for the people I know and love. When fear of death rises up in me, meet me with the hope of your resurrection. Transform and renew me by this good news. Amen.
