The Road To The Cross
THE ROAD TO THE CROSS
LUKE 18:31-43
This is the third time Jesus predicted his death, but this time it is more detailed.
Verses 31-34. They were nearing Jericho. To the left was the blue level of the salt sea. The green river valley, flat-floored and covered with farmland, green patches of the “jungle of Jordan,” trees and crops, were at their feet. The oasis of Jericho formed, as it still forms, a splash of verdure in the midst of the plain. Perhaps they could see the beginning of the road which climbs from the deep-set plain, 1,300 feet below the level of the sea, to Jerusalem, perched 2,600 feet above the Mediterranean.
It was the road to the cross. It is clear from the other Gospels that the Lord had spent much time training his men to meet that which was to be. They had understood little of what he had to say (see 9:22, 44; 13:33). This must have been a lonely time for him, with none to mark and know, and understand, in love and fellow-feeling, the burden which he bore …. The road dropped to the valley floor, crossed the Jordan near the place where he had been baptized, and bent slightly north towards the green of Jericho.
18:35-43. The healing of the blind man (a contrast to the blindness of the disciples, 18:34?) took place as the party entered Jericho. Mark speaks of Bartimaeus, and Matthew of two blind men who found healing as the Lord left the town. Those anxious to discover “contradictions” in Scripture have made much of this. If the three accounts are read precisely as they are set down, it will be clear enough that three or perhaps four men were healed, one of whom was named Bartimaeus. Incidents took place on both sides of the town. What is more likely than that the news of the first healing, and the words which claimed attention, should spread through the crowd and provoke other requests? Others see a confusion between Old Jericho, the mound which covers the Canaanitish city-fort, where the excavations may be seen today, and New Jericho, Herod’s foundation, the modern tree-filled town. There is no careless reporting. It is the brevity of Scripture which causes misunderstanding.
Notes 18:32: Mark 10:33 emphasizes Jewish responsibility. 18:33: Jesus always speaks of the Crucifixion in the context of Resurrection. 18:38,41: compare Isaiah 11:1 and 35:4-5. 18:39: “cried”—a different word from that in 18:38, signifying more intense emotion. 18:43: Luke makes a special point of recording doxologies.