Matthew 17:22-23
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
Tag: Bad News Can Be Good News
The disciples are informed, by Jesus, that He is going to be killed and then raised again, after three days. This is not the first time He has told them this message. However, the message was the very foundation of the “good news” of the Gospel. Yet, when they heard it, they were “greatly distressed.” Isn’t that true for most of us? When something happens we don’t always see the bigger picture! In order for our salvation to take place and be provided for, someone had to die. We are sinners. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Someone has to pay for our sins by dying: Us or someone else. Jesus was willing to die, defeat death (by raising from the dead), whereby paying for our sins and giving us the same resurrected life, in Christ. This message by Christ is bad news that is good news. The disciples would not fully grasped it until much later. But, they would grasp it. They would see the victory we have in Christ. Note Peter’s understanding, after the resurrection:
1 Peter 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
Christ’s death, in Peter’s words, gives us hope for the future. Sometimes the worse news is the best news.
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