Luke 9:43-45 NRSVue
43And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples,
44“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45But they did not understand this saying; its meaning remained concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
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Reflection on Luke 9:43-45
Inspiration from 2026-09-26 Daily Prayer
The disciples need some inspiration points here! They cannot take in the fact that Jesus will be betrayed. Why would anyone betray him when he is doing so much good and is at the height of his powers and so popular? But when I feel myself betrayed, then I am glad that his life took this form. So many people experience betrayal, and the lives of others are cut short, as his was, by the malice of evil people. I am strengthened by the fact that the Son of God knows the anguish from personal experience, and that he has grappled with it and brought great good out of it by his love.
Further reflection
This starts as a moment of triumph. /Everyone was amazed at all that Jesus was doing/. Jesus sobers down the disciples with a solemn warning that he would be betrayed. /Let these words sink into your ears/. He constantly calls us out of our comfort zone, asks us to open our eyes compassionately to human misery.
Some of Jesus' words can make us a bit afraid, uneasy and challenged. Anything to do with his death had this effect on those close to him and to his disciples. We may find ourselves always going to favourite scripture. These are generally words which are significant to us in our lives. These are the sources and the groundstuff of our prayer. There is a time also for going to the words of Jesus and the events of his life which we don't like, and let ourselves be engaged in them with the Lord who is always loving and compassionate.
When we look at Jesus in prayer, we are looking at the one who will soon be betrayed into the hands of his brothers and sisters, for all are brothers and sisters to him. He would be betrayed by those who shared his background of faith. It would be so awful that the listeners would not even ask him about it. When we look at Jesus in prayer we look on the one who would go to death for us, betrayed by one like us.
Lord, when you mentioned the cross, you found it hard to get a hearing from your own friends. They were afraid to ask you about betrayal. It was bad news and did not square with their hopes of your triumph. Help me to let these words sink into my ears.