“Listen!” he said. “We are going up to Jerusalem; and there the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law, and they will condemn him to death, and they will give him up to the Gentiles,
look we’re going
to our heart’s desire
but are doing so
through the back doorwe’ll walk right in
and sit right down
a stumbling block
to a blind automatonwhen they catch on
it will be too late
to avoid a consequential
news of good resultsour heart ache
will not be a loss
even death
but miscondemnationour heart joy
revealing a better basis
for larger partnering
through nonindifference
Indeed, recognizing a corner has been turned and we are on our way to the center of all things “first” and that we will deal with as though they were “last” raises our best hopes and darkest nightmares. This recognition comes even before making a final turn to ascend to Jerusalem from low-lying Jericho.
Beyond recognition of a directional shift is the stating of it.
Readers may have been able to slide by the first two announcements of the consequences of partnering with (loving) both G*D and Neighb*r (8:31; 9:31). Now, taken aside with the Twelve, we are essentially a Thirteenth who is being trained, should one of the Twelve not be able to be present.
Three announcements of suffering, death, and resurrection become the frame by which the Journey to Jerusalem and subsequent consequences of all that has gone before comes clear. Now we are able to review all that has gone before the first announcement in 8:31 to see what it means to be human, to live again in relationship to all of creation and one another. This includes calming storms, external and internal, and healing a variety of brokennesses.
What it might mean to be “handed over” is not yet clear. Except for its foreshadowing of a deliberate act, there is value in not going beyond the already known antagonism of the chief priests and scribes. Here Bratcher329 suggests the use of an equivalent phrase, “the Son of man will come under the control of”. This leads to another shift with the unhelpful identifier of “Gentiles”. The reference is more specifically oriented to the foreign occupiers, the Romans.