It's Friday, ten days before Easter Sunday. Through Jericho, to Jerusalem, Jesus went ahead of the disciples and the crowd that followed. He knows what is to come in the next 10 days, yet he walked and led with confidence.
Take a second and imagine the crowd and atmosphere behind Jesus walking to Jerusalem. He knew he was about to complete his victory over sin and rewrite the course of human history—and yet the crowd had no idea.
This crowd and disciples knew something was coming too, as it says the disciples were filled with awe, and the crowd filled with fear. They were likely all astonished at both the focus he had on his goal and the power of his message. In Mark 1:22 we see that this isn't the first time. In fact almost everything that Jesus did caused the same type of amazement! His inherent authority showed through every action he did. His authority came from God, not from past human authority as the other religious teachers used around them. Jesus knows what’s coming this week, and he is leading the way, boldly, to complete his mission.