Second Wednesday of Lent: Jesus foretells his Resurrection

“Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about
to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn
him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and
scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again” (Mt 20:18)

Jesus looks very confident on his way to Jerusalem with his
disciples. Yes, there will be mockery, scourging and death. But, yes,
on the third day, there will be victory over sin and death. This
contrasts with his cry on the cross “My God, why have you forsaken
me?” (Mt 27:46). Did Jesus lose his confidence and forget the
assurance of the resurrection?

As we see in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself the Son of Man,
the emissary of God, “who is closed to the Father’s heart” (Jn
1:18). As long as he knows that he has come down to serve, give his
life as a ransom and return to the Father, he can be confident. He
can answer to those we asked for seats next to him: “these are not
mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted
by my Father” (Mt 20:23). His Father is truly leading the mission. Jesus
simply consents to the will of his Father, who cannot forsake him.

But Jesus is a true man as well. And as a man, he has to consent
to the will of the Father. If one asks for a seat next to him, he
would answer: “you do not know what you are asking” (Mt 20:22). Indeed, we
do not know what Jesus is going to endure for us. We do not know what
it is to give one’s life as a ransom for many. And we cannot know it
before the end of our own life. Just like Jesus.

But we do know that we need it. We know that thousands of people
cry every day to God “why have you forsaken me?” For them, we
need what Jesus revealed and accomplished in Jerusalem, so that our
hope can be made firmer. Yes, on the third day, there will be
resurrection. 

Image: Rouault, Christ and the Disciples