‘As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men’ (Matthew 17:22).
At His birth, Jesus was received into the loving hands of Mary and Joseph. Later, sick and weak hands reached out to Him, asking for forgiveness and healing. There were also hands that pointed at Jesus with disgust. Hands that wanted to strike Him and carry Him away (Isaiah 53:8).
By using the words ‘Son of Man’, Jesus indicated that He identified Himself completely with humanity. On earth, He took on a human form and was completely human as Son of Man. He came from heaven as Son of God. For Jesus’ opponents, it was blasphemous to call Himself the Son of God. He did not match their expectations. Jesus would be delivered into the hands of these opponents.
His words only caused distress to His disciples (Matthew 17:23). Suffering and death were not part of the picture they had of the Messiah. The fact that He would be ‘raised again’ seemed to elude them. Yet Jesus’ followers continued to believe in Him, despite their doubts. This was the second time Jesus announced His suffering and death. He was bound for Jerusalem.Food for thought: Delivered into the hands of men. Think about these words for a couple of minutes. What comes to your mind and what do you want to tell Jesus about it?