This document summarizes Jesus' three predictions of his death in the Gospel of Matthew. Each time, Jesus clearly tells his disciples that he will be killed in Jerusalem but rise again on the third day. The first prediction occurs in Caesarea Philippi, the second in Galilee, and the third on the road to Jerusalem. Each time, the disciples do not understand and are filled with grief and confusion. The document examines their reactions and emphasizes the importance of accepting God's will even in hardship, prioritizing God's concerns over human ones, and being prepared for trials through faith rather than denial.

1. DEATH PREDICTION

2. GRACIOUS JESUS
(MATTHEW’S PERSPECTIVE WITH GOSPEL PARALLELS)
1. Presenting the King (Matt 1-4)
2. Winning Attitudes (Matt 5:1-12)
3. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 1 (Matt 5:13-
48)
4. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 2 (Matt 6)
5. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 3 (Matt 7)
6. The King’s Touch (Matt 8)
7. The King Calls (Matt 9)
8. The King Commissions (Matt 10)
9. Wisdom and Greatness (Matt 11)
10. Servant Leadership (Matt 12)
11. Hidden Wisdom (Matt 13:1-43)
12. Hidden Treasures (Matt 13:44-14)
13. Gates of Heaven and Hell
(Matt 15-17:9)
14. Winning Others Over (Matt 17:10-
18:35)
15. Kingdom Values, Kingdom Wealth
(Matt 20)
16. The Royal Entry (Matt 21)
17. The Chosen Few (Matt 22)
18. The King’s Glorious Coming (Matt
24:1-44)
19. The Final Reckoning (Matt 24:45 –
25:46)
20. The King’s last days (Matt 26)
21. The King Conquers (Matt 27)

3. GATES OF HELL AND
HEAVEN (MATT 15:1-17:9)
68. Empty Traditions
69. Persistent faith
70. Compelled by Compassion
71. Viral Influences
72. Keys to the Kingdom
73. Death Prediction
74. Discipleship
75. A glimpse of glory

4. Matt 16.21-23; 17.22-23; 20.17-19; Mark 8:31-33; Mark
9.30-32; Mark 10.32-34;Luke 9:22, 43b-45; 18.31-34
Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of
the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised
to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!”
he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You
are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the
concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
DEATH PREDICTION

5. DEATH PREDICTION
Matthew 17:22 When they came
together in Galilee, he said to them,
“The Son of Man is going to be
delivered into the hands of men. 23
They will kill him, and on the third day
he will be raised to life.” And the
disciples were filled with grief.

6. DEATH PREDICTION
Matthew 20:17 Now Jesus was going up to
Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside
and said to them, 18 “We are going up to
Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered
over to the chief priests and the teachers of the
law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will
hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and
flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be
raised to life!”

7. LOCATION
There are at least three incidences
reported in the bible of Jesus
predicting his death. In reality there
may have been more:
First time – location – villages
around Caesarea Philippi
Second time – location – Galilee
Third time – on the way to Jerusalem

8. LOCATION

9. OVERVIEW
Clear prediction – Perceiving
the victory
Hasty retaliation – Accepting
God’s will
Stern correction – Prioritizing
God’s concerns
Blind declination – Preparing
for the worst
Are we prepared?
Discussion

10. CLEAR PREDICTION
In distinct words, Christ
explains to the disciples that
he will be tortured and killed in
Jerusalem and will be raised
the third day.
While He can see the past,
present and future, He, God
Himself, allows himself in the
hands of cruel men to fulfil
God’s purposes.

11. VICTOR NOT VICTIM
Though He appeared to be a
victim, He was in fact the
victor – always.
Do we feel helpless in the
face of injustice?
Do we feel unfairly
maligned?
Have we been taken
advantage of?

12. VICTOR NOT VICTIM
As long as we ensure
there is no wrong at our
end, we can face every
situation with the face of
victory.
Somewhere the great
Hand of God is
orchestrating good out
of the worst imaginable
situation.

13. THE DISCIPLE’S
RESPONSE
Luke 9:45 But they did not understand what this
meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did
not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about
it.
Luke 18:34 34 The disciples did not understand
any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and
they did not know what he was talking about.
Matthew 17:23 ..And the disciples were filled with
grief.

14. HASTY RETALIATION
Peter responded with an
oxymoron – “Never,
Lord”
No, is bad enough, it was
a “never”.
He could not even
imagine his loving
master being tortured in
the hands of the wicked.
We would have felt the
same.

15. ACCEPTING GOD’S
WILL
Can we accept God’s will, however hard?
Are we hearing God’s voice or pretending
He is telling us what we want to hear.
Faith is all about taking Him at His word
and saying, “ok, how do I prepare myself
best for this?”.

16. STERN CORRECTION
Jesus’ retort indicated
Peter was letting Satan use him
He was being a stumbling block
He was letting human concerns
overrule God’s concerns

17. PRIORITIZING GOD’S
CONCERNS
It appears Peter was speaking on the best
interest of Christ.
We too can be instruments of Satan if we
are not receptive and obedient to God’s
voice.
It’s easy to get carried away by human
needs and concerns but there are times
they clash with God’s concerns.

18. BLIND DECLINATION
The disciples were not
ready to accept the fact
of Christ’s death.
It was hidden from
them.
When we are in denial,
the light evades us.

19. BLIND DECLINATION
When we are not ready
to accept God’s best
purposes, they may be
hidden from us.
We need to ask God to
keep us ready to receive
the light at all times.

20. PREPARING FOR THE
WORST
If the disciples had not been in
denial, they could have been
better to support Jesus and
themselves in the event of his
capture and death.
They ran into confusion and fled.
They slept instead of praying in
Christ’s most tormented hour.
They missed following God’s
instruction to “listen to Jesus”.
But the power of the resurrection
overruled all.

21. ARE WE PREPARED?
Are we prepared to walk into our times of
trial like Jesus did?
Or are we in denial and confusion as the
disciples did?
The power of the resurrection can overrule
the worst criticism and opposition.
Faith helps us smile calmly through any
storm
and walk in victory.

22. DISCUSSION
Matt 16.21-23; 17.22-23; 20.17-19; Mark 8:31-33;
Mark 9.30-32; Mark 10.32-34;Luke 9:22, 43b-45;
18.31-34
1. Reflect on the situations when you have said
“never Lord”. What was the outcome?
2. Share examples your life when human concerns
have overruled God’s concerns. Have you
benefitted?
3. Share examples of instances where you were 1.
prepared in crisis and 2. unprepared in crisis?
What do you learn?