Christ Predicts His Death
by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
"Very soon," said Jesus, "we are going up to Jerusalem; and there I must endure great suffering from the rulers of the people, the chief priests and teachers of the law. I must be slain and buried; and on the third day I shall rise again."
The disciples could not understand how if he was to reign as King of Israel, it could be possible for him to suffer these things and to die. Peter took Jesus aside, where he could speak with him alone.
"Master," said Peter, "you must not speak of such things. God will not allow these things to come to you. You are not going to be put to death in Jerusalem; you are going to Jerusalem to sit on the throne of David, and reign over the land!"
But Jesus turned his back upon Peter, and looking upon his disciples, said:
"Get away from me, Satan! You would turn me away from doing God's will! For you look at things, not as God looks at them, but as man does!"
Jesus saw that in Peter's mind was the view of the kingdom that Satan had shown him in his great temptation on the mountain, not as a kingdom of God, but as a kingdom such as men were expecting, a kingdom like those of the world.
Then Jesus called to his disciples, and to the people that were around them, and said:
"If any man has the will to come after me and be my disciple, let him give up his own will, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever for my sake loses his life shall find it. What good will it do to a man to gain the whole world if in gaining he loses his own life? What will a man give that is worth as much as his life? For the Son of Man is coming in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he will give to every man what his acts deserve.
And I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man coming to reign in his kingdom."