Mark 10:32 AV
And they were in the way¹
going up to² Jerusalem³;
and Jesus went before them:
and they were amazed⁴;
and as they followed⁵,
they were afraid⁶.
And he took⁷ again⁸ the twelve⁹,
and began to tell them¹⁰
what things should¹¹ happen unto him¹²,
¹) On the road.
²) Ascending to.
³) Jerusalem means according to some “set ye double peace”, and according to others “possession of peace,” or “foundation of peace.” The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, being Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the “upper” and the “lower city.”
⁴) To be astonished; to be terrified; to be amazed; to be frightened.
⁵) To follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him; to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; side with his party.
⁶) To be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm.
⁷) To join to one’s self.
⁸) By renewal, or as a repetition of a previous action.
⁹) The twelve apostles of Jesus, so called by way of eminence.
¹⁰) To point out to them.
¹¹) What was about to happen.
¹²) what would befall on Him, what would come to pass.
Other translations
They were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid. And He took the Twelve [apostles] again and began to tell them what was about to happen to Him, [AMP] And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, [ESV] Back on the road, they set out for Jerusalem. Jesus had a head start on them, and they were following, puzzled and not just a little afraid. He took the Twelve and began again to go over what to expect next. [MSB] And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, [KJV] They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. [NIV] They were now on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with dread and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him in Jerusalem. [NLT] Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: [NKJV]
Study
And they were in the way
On the road, having left the coasts of Judea on the further side of Jordan.
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.
Going up, ascending to Jerusalem, to the passover there, which was to be in a short time, and where the Christ was to suffer and die, as the passover lamb for all that are given to Him; for this was the last journey He took, and the last passover He would eat there.
And Jesus went before them
As Grotius says, in the style of an intrepid Leader.
He went before them as their forerunner, their guide and leader; though He knew what would befall him, and what designs were forming against Him: and He did this to inspire His disciples with courage, and to leave them an example that they should tread in His steps.
And they were amazed
They were amazed at His readiness to go up to Jerusalem, and the cheerful Spirit He showed, when He had so many, and such powerful enemies at that place, where He would expose himself to the greatest dangers.
They were amazed, or “struck with astonishment” at His courage in advancing to His certain death.
And as they followed
For they did not choose to leave Him, but were determined to continue with Him at all events, though they were afraid.
They were afraid
They were afraid of what would be the consequences of going there, to themselves, as well as to Him; for they, being His followers, could not expect any other than ill treatment from His enemies.
They were afraid for their own safety.
These lifelike touches — not only from an eye-witness, but from one who was struck with wonder and awe — are peculiar to Mark, and give the second Gospel a charm of its own; making us feel as if we ourselves were in the midst of the scenes it describes.
And He took again the twelve;
He took the twelve disciples, as he had done before.
This is referring to His previous announcements on this sad subject. (Mark 8:31)
And began to tell them what things should happen unto him
Jesus again began to tell them what things should happen to him. The word expresses something already begun but not brought to a head, rather than something still in the future.
Jesus told them what was determined by God, and where He agreed to. And what was foretold in the Scriptures; for these were not casual and contingent events.
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Jerusalem is now mentioned very explicitly for the first time in the Gospel of Mark as the actual destination (cf. Mark 10:1).
The continuation of the journey is described with particular detail: “They were going up … Jesus went before them … took the twelve aside … to speak to them …
Jesus seems to be in a hurry to get to Jerusalem; the disciples face this with fear and trembling and follow it reluctantly.
The Greek word θαμβέω (thambeo) is usually translated with ‘amazed’, but this word does not convey the point strong enough. Better would be: ‘they were terrified, they were astonished.’ The disciples are frightened, because they may fear an attack by the Pharisees (cf. Mark 11:18).
Other manuscripts do not have “and while they followed,” but “and those who followed,” so that the subject of the sentence is moved. This makes that there are two groups, and two reactions.
In this case it would be that
▪︎ the disciples were shocked. To the twelve, Jesus had already communicated a thing or two about what was in store for Him (Mark 8:31, 9:31), and in view of this the disciples cannot properly understand Jesus’ haste to go to Jerusalem;
▪︎ but that the followers (that is, the group of men and women who traveled with Jesus and the disciples, cf. Mark 15:41) were afraid. And that for this traveling crowd the future was unclear: what is Jesus after?
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