If today’s Gospel were a scene in a movie, we would see interesting twists in the plot. The apostles are embarrassed after they failed to heal a boy seized by an evil spirit. The child’s father reports them to Jesus who in turn laments the lack of faith of everyone who belongs to that generation. When the boy is brought to Jesus, the evil spirit makes its presence felt by oppressing the child, but Jesus immediately rebukes the demon and gives back the boy, now healed, to his father. Despite the failure on the part of the apostles, the ultimate outcome is the one that matters most to them. After all, the boy is healed, and the apostles enjoy the reflected glory of their Master who has brandished his power against the evil spirit that day.

Then Jesus drops another bomb by predicting his passion, death, and resurrection for the second time. After having witnessed the defeat of evil, the apostles now have to endure another grim prediction about the future. Jesus does not want the apostles to gloat over the exorcism they have just witnessed and to get the wrong idea about God’s Kingdom. Jesus points out that the Kingdom will definitely come, but it is presaged by struggle, sacrifice, and suffering. Jesus has to endure suffering on the cross so that salvation can be won for humanity. In the same way, humans must die to themselves, to their sins and sinful tendencies, so that the new life of Jesus will become real in them.

I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is its width and how great its length.”

Then the angel who spoke with me advanced, and another angel came out to meet him and said to him, “Run, tell this to that young man: People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country, because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst. But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.”

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.

“The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.”

While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.