On the Road to the Cross

Opening Comments:

Please meet me in your copy of God’s word this morning in Luke 18:31–34. Pg. 824-825 in our church provided Bibles.

As we continue our journey through Luke’s Gospel, we arrive at one of the most direct and sober moments in Jesus earthly ministry: His third and most clear prediction of His suffering, death, and resurrection.

Luke 18:31–34 ESV

31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Our passage today places this conversation along the side of the road on the way to Jerusalem in an intimate, private, and intentional moment between Jesus and the Twelve. To feel the weight of that moment, we need to remember where this road began.

Luke 9:51 ESV

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

From that point on, Jesus has been moving with resolve toward what the Father sent Him to accomplish. And here, with the cross now drawing near, He lays the plan out plainly, telling them exactly what will happen to Him. And yet, the disciples simply cannot take it in.

This passage lays three key realities before us this morning

The purpose of Jesus (v. 31)

The prophecies about Jesus (vv. 32–33)

The perplexity of the disciples (v. 34)

And all of it leads us straight to the heart of the gospel.

1. The Purpose of Jesus (v. 31)

This roadside conversation begins with some very sobering words:

Luke 18:31 ESV

31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

Jesus isn’t speculating or offering a possibility or a fear, He’s revealing the settled plan of God unfolding exactly as the scriptures declared.

This single sentence reveals two massive truths:

A. Jesus’ Divinity — revealed in the title “Son of Man”

The title “Son of Man” is the most frequent way Jesus refers to himself in the Gospels. He used it over 80 times.

It’s a title that reaches back into the Old testament prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14 , where the Son of Man:

Approaches the Ancient of Days

Receives glory and an everlasting dominion

And, is worshipped by all nations.

This isn't a human title, it’s a divine title. By using it here, Jesus is essentially saying

“The divine Son from Daniel’s vision has come and He is about to intentionally walk into suffering.”

That in itself reveals His deity.

And notice the confidence:

“Everything written… will be accomplished.”

Only God can speak that way. Only God can stand before Scripture and declare:

“This is about Me, and I will fulfill every word.”

B. Scripture’s Reliability — the entire Old Testament points here

When Jesus says “everything written by the prophets,” He does not mean a few scattered verses across the Old Testament. He means the entire Old Testament narrative is moving toward the cross.

From the earliest pages, God was preparing the world for this moment:

Genesis 3:15 — the wounded seed crushing the serpent

Genesis 22 — a beloved son laid on the altar

Exodus 12 — the Passover lamb slain so God’s people could live

Leviticus — a sacrificial system crying out for a final substitute

Psalm 22 — “They pierce my hands and my feet”

Psalm 69 — vinegar for thirst

Isaiah 52–53 — the Servant “despised and rejected… wounded for our transgressions”

Even the personal stories in the Old Testament function like signposts pointing us to Christ:

Joseph betrayed, David mocked, Jeremiah abused —all echo forward to a greater suffering yet to come.

And they are not alone.

Moses stands between a holy God and a sinful people, foreshadowing a greater Mediator.

Boaz redeems Ruth at his own cost, pointing to a greater Redeemer.

Daniel is delivered from the lions’ den, pointing to a greater Deliverer who would conquer death itself.

All of these lives and moments; flawed men, incomplete sacrifices, temporary deliverances—form shadows that stretch forward toward the cross, where the true and better Christ would suffer once for all.

Jesus is not predicting something new. He is revealing something old… something written… something planned.

As one commentator put it:

The Scriptures have to be fulfilled, and they have to be fulfilled in Christ.

Leadership Ministries Worldwide, The Gospel according to Luke, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1996), 369.

Scripture is not a loose collection of religious stories. It is one unified testimony pointing to the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That is why Jesus can say “will be accomplished.” Because God’s Word cannot fail.

Application: This roadside moment calls us to behold Christ— to see Him not only as our Savior, but as the centerpiece of all Scripture and the Author and Finisher of our salvation.

Because if everything written is fulfilled in Him, then everything we hope in must rest on Him as well.

2. The Prophecies of Jesus (vv. 32–33)

Now that Jesus has declared that everything written must be fulfilled, he moves to giving the details of how it will all unfold.

Luke 18:32–33 ESV

32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”

In this very descriptive passage Jesus is laying out, well in advance exactly what the scriptures have said would happen. Jesus knew exactly what He was walking into, and He describes it in advance.

A. “He will be delivered over” — the prophecy of betrayal and judgment

“Delivered over” is the language of judgment in the Old Testament. Israel was handed over to enemies because of sin. Rebels were delivered over because they stood under God’s wrath.

So when Jesus says the Son of Man will be delivered over, the disciples would have struggled to imagine how this could fit their understanding of the Messiah.

They expected a conquering King, not a condemned sufferer.

But the Scriptures had already spoken of a Servant who would suffer in the place of sinners. Isaiah described Him as pierced for our transgressions, bearing our iniquities, cut off for the sins of God’s people (Isaiah 52–53).

The disciples didn’t yet understand how that prophecy fit the Messiah, but Jesus did. He knew that to fulfill the Scriptures, He must take the judgment that belonged to us.

Being “delivered over” wasn’t a tragic accident — it was the very purpose for which He came.

B. “Mocked, shamefully treated, and spit upon” — the prophecy of rejection

These humiliations fulfill multiple prophetic lines:

Psalm 22—mocked and scorned by onlookers.

Isaiah 50:6

Isaiah 50:6 ESV

6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

Mocking, spitting, and shame were signs of contempt, reserved for criminals or rebels.

Yet the Holy One bears them all. This is not random cruelty. This is Scripture being fulfilled: the Servant of the Lord suffering not for His sin, but for ours.

C. “After flogging Him, they will kill Him” — the prophecy of the suffering Servant

The Scriptures pointed ahead not only to Messiah’s rejection, but also to the nature of His suffering:

Micah 5:1 ESV

1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

Zechariah 12:10 ESV

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Frederic Farrar in his book “The Crucifixion A. D. 30,” gives this historically vivid portrayal:

“Crucifixion included all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly—dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, traumatic fever, tetanus… the unnatural position making every movement painful… the inflamed wounds… the raging thirst… every misery increasing until death itself appeared as a delicious release.”

“The Crucifixion A. D. 30,” in Rossiter Johnson, Charles F. Horne, and John Rudd, eds., The Great Events By Famous Historians [Project Gutenberg EBook, 2008], 3:47–48)

This is the suffering Jesus predicted and embraced so the Scriptures could be fulfilled.

D. “On the third day He will rise” — the prophecy of resurrection

Jesus ends His prediction not with tragedy but with victory:

“…and on the third day He will rise.”

The resurrection isn’t an afterthought. It’s the hinge of redemptive history, the proof of Jesus’ identity, and the foundation of our faith.

Scripture had already anticipated this triumph:

Psalm 16 — God’s Holy One will not see decay

Isaiah 53:11 — after His suffering, “He shall see and be satisfied”

Jonah — prefigured the resurrection when he was delivered after three days in the depths

Hosea 6:2 — “on the third day He will raise us up”

Jesus is telling the disciples:

“Death is not where this ends. Death is where victory begins.”

The grave will not have the final word. The cross is not failure, but fulfillment. And the resurrection is God’s public declaration that the sacrifice was accepted, the Scriptures were completed, and salvation is now accomplished.

The apostles would later summarize the whole gospel this way:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

The resurrection isn’t the footnote. It’s the headline. It’s the turning point of history. It’s the sign that every prophecy has reached its intended end.

Application: The details of Jesus’ suffering were not accidents; they were appointments written long before He walked the road to Jerusalem.

And because He fulfilled every prophecy concerning His death and resurrection, you can trust Him with absolute confidence for everything that concerns your life and eternity.

The God who kept His Word at the cross will keep His Word to you.

3. The Perplexity of the Disciples (v. 34)

Display but don’t read.

Luke 18:34 ESV

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Luke stacks three phrases together to show how completely the disciples missed what Jesus had just revealed:

they understood none of these things,

it was hidden from them,

they did not grasp what was said.

Their minds simply could not take it in.

Why?

A. Their theology had no category for a suffering Messiah

The disciples heard Jesus’ words clearly, but they couldn’t fit His words into what they believed.

First-century Judaism expected a victorious Messiah who would be a King that would defeat the nations, restore Israel, gather the scattered people, renew Jerusalem, and usher in an age of glory.

In that framework, there was no category for betrayal, humiliation, or crucifixion.

They expected a throne, not a cross. Power, not weakness. Triumph, not sacrifice.

Their theology simply couldn’t carry the weight of Jesus’ words.

Application: Sometimes we don’t struggle because God’s Word is unclear, but because our expectations are.

We assume following Jesus will be comfortable, predictable, and affirming. But often He leads us, as He led them, down a road marked by self-denial, obedience, and even suffering.

B. God had not yet opened their eyes to see it fully

Luke adds an important detail:

“This saying was hidden from them…”

“Hidden” is a passive verb—meaning the concealment came from outside of them. This is what theologians call a divine passive: God Himself had not yet granted the understanding they needed.

Not as punishment but because the full meaning of the cross could only be grasped after the resurrection.

Only then do the disciples finally see what Jesus had been telling them all along.

Application: The disciples’ confusion reminds us that understanding often comes in stages. God reveals truth in His timing.

Even when they couldn’t grasp what Jesus was saying, He didn’t push them away. He kept them close, kept teaching, and kept leading.

And that encourages us. There will be moments when God’s Word feels unclear or when His work in our lives doesn’t make sense. That doesn’t mean He is distant. It often means He is still forming us for what He will reveal next.

What was hidden from them was eventually made clear and the same God who opened their eyes will, in His time, open ours.

Conclusion

As Jesus and the Twelve walk toward Jerusalem, He tells them plainly what awaits Him. 

He came to fulfill everything written about the Son of Man. From Genesis to the Psalms to Isaiah, the Scriptures had always pointed toward a Redeemer who would suffer, die, and rise again.

What Jesus described is exactly what the Old Testament foretold. Every step—betrayal, humiliation, torture, death, and resurrection—unfolded according to the unbreakable Word of God.

The cross was not the collapse of God’s plan; it was the centerpiece of it. And the resurrection was not an afterthought; it was the victory that proved the work was finished.

The disciples’ perplexity reminds us that our hearts often struggle with the parts of God’s will that don’t fit our expectations.

They couldn’t imagine a suffering Messiah, and God had not yet opened their eyes to see what the Scriptures had always said.

But when He did open their minds, they proclaimed the message with clarity and conviction:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 ESV

3 …that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

This is the gospel. And it stands before us today with the same clarity Jesus gave on that road to Jerusalem.

Invitation

For unbelievers

If you have never trusted Christ, this passage shows you exactly why He came. He went to the cross deliberately, lovingly, and obediently to pay for the sins of those who cannot save themselves.

Your sin deserves judgment but Christ bore that judgment in your place. He died the death you owed, and He rose so you might live.

Turn from your sin and trust Him today. There is no salvation apart from Him, and there is no condemnation for those who are in Him.

For believers

For those already in Christ, this passage calls you to a deeper trust in His Word. The God who fulfilled every prophecy about His Son will also keep every promise made to His people.

Where is He calling you to obedience that you have avoided?

Where do you need to surrender your expectations to His revealed will?

Where do you need renewed confidence in His sovereignty and goodness?

Christ walked the road of suffering for your redemption. You can walk the road of obedience for His glory.

Invitation Prayer

Father, thank You for sending Your Son to fulfill every word You have spoken. Thank You that He suffered for our sins and rose for our salvation. For those who have never trusted Christ, open their hearts today. Draw them to repentance and faith. For Your people, strengthen our trust in Your Word and our obedience to Your will. Conform us to Christ, who gave Himself fully for us.

In His name we pray, Amen.