TEXT [Commentary]

6. Jesus predicts his death again (9:30-32; cf. Matt 17:22-23; Luke 9:43-45)

30 Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, 31 for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” 32 They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

NOTES

9:31 The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. . . . He will be killed, but . . . he will rise. This is the second of three predictions in this central unit of Mark (8:31; 10:32-34). There is also mention of the Son of Man’s rising from the dead in 9:9, which (according to 9:10) the disciples did not understand. This is the briefest of the three predictive passages. The note of betrayal may echo Isa 53:6, 12, LXX (Lane 1974:337; also in Paul, Rom 4:25; 8:32). The betrayal is presented proleptically (as already accomplished) in the present tense: The Son of Man “is being betrayed” (Taylor 1966:403). The verse begins with Jesus teaching and saying these things to the disciples; expressed in Gr. by the imperfect tense, the point is that Jesus was telling them these things regularly.

9:32 They didn’t understand . . . they were afraid to ask. As in 9:10, the disciples did not comprehend the remarks about the resurrection. Their fear about asking him also parallels the earlier remarks.

COMMENTARY [Text]

Jesus again sought to withdraw from the crowds for a moment (cf. 6:46). He wanted to concentrate on teaching his disciples, whose need for instruction was made obvious by the previous scenes. For the second time, he told them that the Son of Man was going to be betrayed, killed, and raised from the dead. Significantly, it is the “Son of Man” who experiences death and resurrection in all three predictions, although Mark 10 is more detailed. According to the Greek, the Son of Man was betrayed into the hands of men; this is ironic because the one who represented humanity was given over to humanity to meet his death (France 2002:372).

The disciples still did not understand what Jesus was talking about. It is not clear why they were reluctant to ask, as they often did make queries (4:10; 7:17; 9:11, 28; 10:10; 13:3; France 2002:372). Perhaps they understood just enough of the situation, especially in light of Jesus’ rebuke of Peter, that they thought the details were best left undisclosed. They may have feared the answer. For those who expected a glorious redeemer, such remarks would have been surprising and disturbing. Only the resurrection would make matters clear. The contrast between Jesus’ selfless perspective and the selfish focus of the disciples is still another example of discipleship failure and indicates what they must learn.