Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” —Matthew 20:17-19.
One thing the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) make clear: Jesus’ death on the cross was no accident — it was no tragedy outside the will of God. Jesus knew the challenge that awaited him in Jerusalem, and he walked into his horrific challenge to deliver us from the same fate he suffered. His trust in the Father’s “third day solution” opened the doorway for God to secure victory for Jesus and all of us who build our futures through our faith in him (Colossians 2:12-15, 3:1-4). The question for us is straightforward: Will we face our challenges with a faith that the Father’s “third day solution” assures us of our triumph in the face of our mortality?