Verse 32
32. And they were in the way—on the road.
going up to Jerusalem—in Perea, and probably somewhere between Ephraim and Jericho, on the farther side of the Jordan, and to the northeast of Jerusalem.
and Jesus went before them—as GROTIUS says, in the style of an intrepid Leader.
and they were amazed—or "struck with astonishment" at His courage in advancing to certain death.
and as they followed, they were afraid—for their own safety. These artless, lifelike touches—not only from an eye-witness, but one whom the noble carriage of the Master struck with wonder and awe—are peculiar to Mark, and give the second Gospel a charm all its own; making us feel as if we ourselves were in the midst of the scenes it describes. Well might the poet exclaim:
"The Saviour, what a noble flame
Was kindled in His breast,
When, hasting to Jerusalem,
He march'd before the rest!"
COWPER
And he took again the twelve—referring to His previous announcements on this sad subject.
and began to tell them what things should happen unto him—"were going to befall Him." The word expresses something already begun but not brought to a head, rather than something wholly future.
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