Did the disciples understand what Jesus was saying? Of course not. Nor do we. It’s not the way of the world that ultimate power surrenders itself to weakness. Even in the movies, good guys win and bad guys pay. What Jesus was proposing was simply ridiculous. Why should the Son of Man, who preached with authority, healed the sick, and walked on water, hand himself over to a measly bunch like the Sanhedrin? The first should never be last, kingdom or no kingdom.
—Alice Camille, in A Book of Grace-Filled Days. © Loyola Press. 2009.