Handed over to Death

Following Jesus means living a self-sacrificial life of service to others, especially to the weak and the insignificant.

Jesus explained to his disciples what it meant to be the Messiah of Israel while on the road to Jerusalem. There, he would face his final confrontation with the Temple authorities ending in his unjust death at the hands of the Romans. Was not Jerusalem the appointed place where the prophets of Yahweh were slain, where the Messiah himself must suffer rejection and death, according to the Scriptures?

The second of the three predictions of his Death and Resurrection by Jesus is found in the ninth chapter of Mark. All three occurred only after he began his final journey “on the way” to Jerusalem.

[Photo by Claudio Testa on Unsplash]

As before, the disciples did not understand his words. The idea of the Messiah of Israel being killed by his enemies differed radically from the popular expectation, an idea that no patriotic Israelite would tolerate:

• “The Son of Man is to be handed over into the hands of men, and they will slay him, and being slain, after three days will he arise. But they did not understand his words” - (Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-32, Luke 9:43-45).

The Greek verb translated as “handed over” is ‘paradidōmi’, meaning “to give over, deliver, betray.” While some interpreters take this to refer to his betrayal by Judas, it more likely points to him being “handed over” or “delivered up” by God to his enemies who would put him to death, an outcome predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Gospel of Mark, ‘paradidōmi’ is a theologically significant term.

The verb is in the passive voice to signify that Jesus was acted upon. God was the one who allowed him to be delivered into the hands of his enemies. The same verb is used in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, for the “delivering up” of the Servant of Yahweh in the Book of Isaiah:

• (Isaiah 53:6…12) - “The Lord handed him over for our sins… Because his soul was HANDED OVER to death, and he was numbered among the transgressors.”

Likewise, in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter declared that Jesus was “Handed over by the counsel and foreknowledge of God.” The sin of mankind was the true cause of his death, for he died on behalf of all men to deliver them from the stain and bondage of sin and death - (Acts 2:23).

His trial and execution did not exhaust this prediction. Just as their Lord, so his disciples likewise would be “handed over” (‘paradidōmi’) to “councils; and in synagogues, you will be beaten, and before governors and kings you will stand for my sake” – (Mark 13:9).

Despite his dire prediction, the disciples debated which of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom. While Jesus described his mission as suffering for others, they measured “greatness” by grandeur, position, and political power over others rather than service. They continued to think as the world did and still does to this very hour.

SERVICE TO THE WEAK

Jesus found the disciples discussing which of them would be the “greatest” in the Kingdom. He took the opportunity to instruct them. If anyone desired to be “first,” he must become the “least and the servant of all.” He took a child and declared, “Whoever gives welcome in my name to one of these children, he gives welcome not to me, but to Him who sent me” - (Matthew 18:1-5, Mark 9:33-37, Luke 9:46-48).

The Greek word translated as “servant” passage is ‘diakonos’, the Greek term from which the church derived the title ‘deacon.’ In secular Greek, it referred to persons who waited on tables, most often a slave - (Acts 6:1-5, Romans 16:1, 1 Timothy 3:8-12).

By embracing the child, Jesus demonstrated what it meant to become a “servant to all.” He did not use the child to symbolize child-like faith but to show that his “servant” embraces fellow believers who are insignificant if not marginalized by society – (Mark 10:42-45, Romans 12:10, Philippians 2:3-4).

He concluded, “Whosoever shall receive me does not receive me, but him who sent me.” He was and is the agent and designated Ruler of God. To reject him was the same as rejecting God.

Instead of fretting about their positions in the Kingdom, the disciples should have concerned themselves with meeting the needs of the weak, the insignificant, the sick, the persecuted, and the outcast. If necessary, they should have been willing to lay down their lives for the benefit of others.

As Jesus stated in the Gospel of John, "No man has greater love than this, to lay down his life for his friend." He went even further than this since he sacrificed his life not only for his friends but also for his enemies - “While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son.”

Self-sacrificial service is what it means in real-life terms to be a disciple of Jesus and follow him wherever he leads. Ministering to others is how we daily “deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him” along the same narrow path trod by Jesus of Nazareth.

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SEE ALSO:

• Embracing the Cross - (To be the Messiah of Israel meant suffering and death for others, and Jesus summoned his disciples to follow that same path – Mark 8:31)

• Opposition and Fulfillment - (Jesus began to proclaim the Gospel following the arrest of John, which represented the opposition that came to plague his ministry – Mark 1:14-15)

• Ransom for Many - (His disciple is called to engage in self-sacrificial service for others just as Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many – Mark 10:35-45)