There is a theological connection between this section and the former one. The death of Jesus provided the basis for God's gracious dealings with believers in His Son. This connection is clear to Matthew's readers because Matthew selected his material as he did, but the disciples probably did not see it when Jesus revealed it.
20:17 Matthew's reference to Jesus' going up to Jerusalem reminds the reader of the climax toward which the conflict between the religious leaders and Jesus was heading. Of course, Jerusalem was up topographically from most places in Israel, but the idea of going up there was metaphorical as well since Jerusalem was the center of national life. The rejection of Messiah is, of course, one of the main themes in Matthew's Gospel. The writer did not say that Jesus had begun moving toward Jerusalem, only that He prepared His disciples further for that next important step.
20:18-19 Jesus was taking His disciples up to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration there. While there, the Son of Man would somehow be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, His antagonistic opponents. This implied a betrayal. They would condemn Him to death. This implied legal proceedings. He would fall under the control of the Gentiles who would ridicule, torture, and crucify Him. The Romans were the only Gentiles with authority to crucify. The Jews did not have this power under Roman rule. Three days later Jesus would be raised up to life.
This was Jesus' third and most specific prediction of His death (16:21; 17:22-23; cf. 12:40; 16:4; 17:9). He mentioned for the first time the mode of His death, crucifixion, and the Gentiles' part in it. Jesus' ability to predict His own death was another indication of His messiahship. His willingness to proceed toward Jerusalem in view of what lay before Him shows that He was the Suffering Servant obedient even to death on a cross.
"These three passion-predictions are the counterpart to the major summary-passages found in the second part of Matthew's story (4:23; 9:35; 11:1). The function they serve is at least twofold. On the one hand, they invite the reader to view the whole of Jesus' life story following 16:21 from the single, overriding perspective of his passion and resurrection. On the other hand, they also invite the reader to construe the interaction of Jesus with the disciples throughout 16:21-28:20 as controlled by Jesus' concern to inculcate in them his understanding of discipleship as servanthood (16:24-25; 20:25-28)."742
