Matthew Starner

Mark 14:27-28
“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: ” ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Mark 16:6-7
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ “
(Emphasis mine)

Twice, Mark tells us that Jesus will go ahead of His disciples to Galilee. Obviously, there is a factual element to the statement. He does meet them after the resurrection in Galilee, but Mark was writing this for Christians who wouldn’t be there to see Galilee and far after Jesus had risen and ascended into heaven. So there must be another reason we’re told that we’re told this.

Galilee is the place where Jesus started His serious ministry. Here is where conflicts began and His enemies appeared and began criticizing Him – even for doing good. From Galilee, He went on to Judah, Jerusalem, and Golgotha to the cross. If Jesus will “go before” us to Galilee, it can be seen as a call to follow Him down the difficult road. It becomes a road map for us – a guide for Christians of all time, to take up their cross and follow where the Master leads – through conflict, persecution, even death to the resurrection.