Mark 10:32 

New International Version (NIV)

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.

For Meditation

When we live life with purpose, we become determined, fearless, and confident. We do not avoid problems and difficulties. We accept them as realities of life and confront them with courage and conviction. That is the example Christ left for us and the sure way to accomplish God’s will and purpose for our lives.

1. Have you stopped to consider the scene of Mark 10:32, with Jesus leading the way up to Jerusalem? Have you pondered the question of why His disciples were astonished, “while those who followed were afraid?”
2. With Calvary in view, can you believe Jesus’ calm and determination, when He knew what the city held for Him? Can you believe His zeal and boldness?
3. Did any of His disciples, and those who followed Him, stop to consider the purpose of what proved to be Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem? Did they know that the very thing they feared – death – was the reason Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem (Heb. 2: 15)?
4. Did any of them know the joy Jesus had, as He gave Himself to the rejection of Jerusalem, and the cruelty of the cross to free us from the fear of death that held us in slavery? Can you feel His energy when He set before Him the joy of reconciling “to Himself all things, … by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20)?
5. Does your life have purpose? Does it have meaning for the glory of God? How committed are you to the ultimate purpose of your life – living to become like Christ for the glory of God (Eph. 4:12-13; 1 Cor. 10:31)?

I pray that you set your face towards heaven, where Christ is seated on the right hand of God (Col. 3:1), with purpose and determination to confront every situation with the joy of glorifying the Father with your life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

So, may you live to become like Jesus when our final redemption in glory opens to us; and may you look to Him who is the author and perfecter of your faith, and persevere through your trials to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you (Heb. 12:2; Phil. 4:12).

Shalom