Prophecies of Jesus Regarding Himself in Mark

“Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, ‘Prophesy!’” (Mark 14:65)

Ironically, Jesus had prophesied a number of things.  Here are some I’ve noticed as I’ve been studying through Mark:

Jesus Prophecies His Death and Resurrection 3x

“He then began to teach them [his disciples] that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31-32)

“He said to them [his disciples], ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’  But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” (Mark 9:31-32)

“Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law.  They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.  Three days later he will rise.’”  (Mark 10:32-33)

Death and Resurrection Prophecies Fulfilled

Did all these prophecies happen?

The third prophecy is most detailed, Jesus predicted several very specific events. Let’s see if they all happened: 

1. “The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law”
   1. “Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared.  With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.” (Mark 14:43)
2. “They will condemn him to death”
   1. Trial before Sanhedrin: “’You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’ They all condemned him as worthy of death.” (Mark 14:64)
   2. Trial before Pilate: “’What shall I do, then, with the one you call the King of the Jews?’ Pilate asked them. ‘Crucify him!’ they shouted… [Pilate] had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.” (Mark 15:12-15)
3. “[They] will hand him over to the Gentiles”
   1. “Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision.  They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.” (Mark 15:1)
4. “[The Gentiles] will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him.”
   1. “[Pilate] had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace… again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:16-20)
5. “Three days later he will rise.”
1. “‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:2-7)

Yes, everything happened just as Jesus said. 

Tell His Disciples AND Peter

Why do you think the angel said, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter to go ahead to Galilee”?  Why did the angel put that, “and Peter” on the end? 

Well, if the women had told the disciples that Jesus had told them to tell “the disciples” something, what do you think Peter would have thought? 

Peter was so ashamed of his behavior he probably would have looked down, kicked the dirt and thought to himself, “Yeah, well, I’m sure Jesus wasn’t including ME when he said ‘the disciples,’ he just meant all the OTHER guys.  You can just lump me in there with Judas.”

But the message was, “Tell the disciples AND Peter to go ahead to Galilee.”  When Peter heard that, he would have known all was well, that Jesus wanted HIM. 

This is just a very small touch, but it is indicative of how God works: he pays attention to detail. 

One interesting thing is that this detail is only mentioned in Mark.  It is thought that Mark wrote down the life of Jesus as he had heard it from Peter directly.  Mark and Peter worked together. 

Jesus Makes Further Prophecies on the Mount of Olives

Notice under point #5 above how the angel said Jesus was going ahead of them into Galilee where they would see him?  And the angel added, “Just as he told you.” 

When did Jesus tell them that?  Well, back on the Mount of Olives before he went to the Garden.  At that time Jesus made three prophecies:

#1 "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written:

   ‘I will strike the shepherd,
       and the sheep will be scattered.’

#2 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

#3 “I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today–yes, tonight–before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." (Mark 14:27-30)

Were these three prophecies fulfilled?  The answer is yes:

#1: “Then everyone deserted him and fled.” (Mark 14:50)

#2: “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene… afterward Jesus appeared in a different from to two of them while they were walking in the country… later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”  (Mark 16:9-14)

Where were the 11 when Jesus appeared to them while they were eating?  Mark doesn’t tell us, but Matthew adds another note to this story:

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.”  (Matthew 28:16-17)

#3: “But he denied it… Again he denied it…  He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don’t know this man you’re talking about."

Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times."

And he broke down and wept.” (Mark 14:68-72)

Jesus’ Word is Trustworthy

There is a lot more prophecy regarding Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Especially in the Old Testament.  Maybe I’ll do a post on that some other time. 

The main thing I took away from this study was that when Jesus says something, it happens. 

Jesus was trustworthy about predicting his own future.  And Jesus predicted other future events which have yet to happen. In light of his trustworthiness, I believe they will happen too.