by the prophets concerning
the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he
shall rise again."

It is to us an astounding fact that the Twelve failed to comprehend His
meaning; yet Luke unqualifiedly affirms: "And they understood none of
these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the
things which were spoken." This avouchment of the Savior's approaching
death and resurrection spoken in confidential certainty to the Twelve
was the third of its kind; and still they could not bring themselves to
accept the awful truth.[1040] According to Matthew's account, they were
told of the very manner by which the Lord should die--that the Gentiles
should crucify Him; yet they understood not. To them there was some
dreadful incongruity, some dire inconsistency or inexplicable
contradiction in the sayings of their beloved Master. They knew Him to
be the Christ, the Son of the living God; and how could such a One be
brought into subjection and be slain? They could not fail to realize
that some unprecedented development in His life was impending; this they
may have vaguely conceived to be the crisis for which they had been
waiting, the open proclamation of His Messianic dignity, His
enthronement as Lord and King. And such indeed was to be, though in a
manner far different from their anticipations. The culminating
prediction--that on the third day He would rise again--seems to have
puzzled them the most; and, at the same time, this assurance of ultimate
triumph may have made all intermediate occurrences appear as of but
secondary and transitory import. They persistently repelled the thought
that they were following their Lord to the cross and the sepulchre.

THE QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE AGAIN.[1041]

Notwithstanding all the instructions the apostles had received
concerning humility, and though they had before them the supreme example
of the Master's life and conduct, in which the fact that service was the
only measure of true greatness was abundantly demonstrated, they
continued to dream of rank and honor in the kingdom of the Messiah.
Perhaps because of the imminence of the Master's triumph, with which
they all were particularly impressed at this time though ignorant of its
real significance, certain of the Twelve appealed to the Lord in the
cour