The grace of Christ

"Then Jesus said to them : All of you will be scandalized about me this night [or you will be shaken in your faith for my sake] ; For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered ; But after I have risen, I will go before you into Galilee." Matthew 26:31, 32

Jesus just took the Passover meal with his disciples and went with them to the Mount of Olives. He knows all that awaits him in the next two or three hours ; He also knows that his disciples will abandon him, even deny him. In his love for them, he warns them of what is going to happen by relying on Scripture: he himself, their shepherd, is going to be struck, and they, the sheep, will be scattered after having separated from him (See Z. 13, 7).

Will he make them morality, treat them as unworthy of his love, unbelievers, ungrateful for all the care with which he has surrounded them ? Will he disqualify them for the rest of their lives ? No, he thinks of the shock caused by the fact that he, their almighty Master, whom they have recognized as the Son of God, is going to be crucified without sketching a single gesture of defense. They are deeply attached to him, and now he is going to leave them; They will remain alone. Moreover, all their Jewish hopes of a Messiah opposed to the Romans will be annihilated; What a profound disappointment for them !

That is why Jesus, full of grace and compassion, makes his disciples understand that his death on the cross does not mean that their great adventure with him finds a definitive end. On the contrary, he sets them an appointment for the following week when he is resurrected. Jesus never contemplated his death on the cross as a defeat.

The Lord finds them in Galilee, sheltered from those who could pursue them with their hatred, where he had initially gathered the "poor of the flock" (Zech. 11: 7, 11). A new stage is therefore preparing for them with him.

During this meeting in Galilee, Jesus granted them a ministry that would prolong his own : make "disciples all nations". But will he leave them alone to accomplish this vast and perilous task ? No, he assures them, "I am with you every day until the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). He strengthens them in hope, and we, with them today.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)