<p>20:17&nbsp;<em>And as Jesus was going up</em>- This could refer to the uphill journey, but &lsquo;going up&rsquo; was a technical term used for going up to Jerusalem, particularly to keep a feast- Passover, in this case. Mark adds: &ldquo;And Jesus went before them, and they were amazed; and as they followed they were sore afraid&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p><p><em>To Jerusalem</em>- From Jericho, 19:15. Hence they went &ldquo;up&rdquo;, uphill to Jerusalem. These small details all support the position that the Gospels were written by eye witnesses and were not created many years later by people who were not present. They were going the opposite direction of man in the parable of the Good Samaritan, who went&nbsp;<em>down</em>&nbsp;from Jerusalem to Jericho. We may be able to infer that the Lord intended us to read that man as one who was not going in the way of the cross, who was going away from Jerusalem rather than towards it- and who was still saved by the grace of the Samaritan / Jesus.&nbsp;</p><p><em>He took the twelve disciples aside</em>- The implication is that there were others travelling with them, and the Lord wished to explain the reality of the cross to the disciples alone.</p><p><em>And on the way he said to them</em>- It could be inferred that &ldquo;the way&rdquo; is the way to Jerusalem and the cross; the disciples were following Jesus in that &ldquo;way&rdquo; without appreciating what it really involved and where it ultimately led, and that can be true for us too.</p>