The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church

3.4.9.7 Jesus' references to His suffering and death

The gospels tell us how the Lord announced His suffering and death, as well as His resurrection, on various occasions. A few examples are mentioned here:

  • After Peter's confession to Jesus: "[You are] the Christ of God", the Lord revealed to His disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Luke 9: 22).

  • Shortly after the events on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus taught His disciples: "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day" (Mark 9: 31).

  • Before entering Jerusalem, the Lord turned to the Twelve and said: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again" (Matthew 20: 18-19).

  • When the scribes and Pharisees wanted to see signs, Jesus pointed to the story of the prophet Jonah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12: 40).

  • He made a similar reference at the cleansing of the temple: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2: 19). Only after His resurrection did it become clear to His disciples that Jesus Christ had thereby been referring to the temple of His body (John 2: 21-22).