Jesus Predicts His Death

Scripture

Matthew 16:21-28
Mark 8:31-9:1
Luke 9:21-27

Similar Passage

Jesus Again Predicts His Death

Commentary

The disciples would appear to have all the warnings that they needed to know that Jesus was going to die.  The confusion does come from a lack of knowledge but a lack of understanding and an unwillingness to accept it.

The disciples fully believed that Jesus was the Messiah and this actually caused the confusion.  This event occurs right after Peter's confession of Christ. The trouble is that the disciples are expecting an earthly kingdom to be established.  They understood the prophecies of the Old Testament but didn't realize that Jesus' reign on earth would not occur until later.  They believed that Jesus couldn't die because He couldn't rule over Israel if He were dead.

The disciples were also unwilling to accept what Jesus taught.  They had no reason to doubt anything that He said but the message about His upcoming death is too much for them to handle.  Even if they fully understood that it must take place, the loss of Jesus is too personal for them to accept.  They don't believe it because they don't want to.  This holds true all the way through to the resurrection when the disciples are still cannot understand the resurrection because they are trying to come to terms with His death.