Matthew 26:31-35 31Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32But after I have been raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Jesus gives specific details about what was about to happen. Jesus and the disciples were now on the Mount of Olives (verse 30). The end of the day was approaching, and everyone was tired. After an exhausting week, the disciples were at their most vulnerable and weak point. Perhaps they had in their mind still the statement about one of them betraying Jesus. Such a prediction would steel their resolve against this temptation and cause them to rely on their willpower.
Jesus’ next statement must have come as a shock. Not only was one of them (Judas) going to betray Jesus, but all of them would fall away. Fall away comes from a word (skandalisthēsesthe) that can mean scandalize, fall into sin, or break a moral law. In verse 31, it has the sense of desert and walk away. The disciples would turn their backs on Jesus and fall away from their faith commitments. Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 to show how the disciples would flee like sheep when he would be struck, which could be taken literally as a physical blow.
Verse 32 is another prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection. The strike of verse verse 31 would be so severe that it would lead to his death, but death would not have the last work. He would return to life and meet his disciples in Galilee. This verse should have given the disciples hope, but fear, exhaustion, and persecution can eat away at hope, as it did with the disciples. The disciples may have thought they were strong and secure, but they had to learn the power of resurrection and how their faith would rely on the power of the cross and the assurance of the empty tomb.
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