31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him;33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."

34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

The disciples thought Jesus was to be their deliverer and king.  They thought he would lead an army of God against the Romans who was the enemy occupying their land that God had given them.  The real enemy is evil and Jesus defeated it for all time by paying for our sins and rising again.  We all have access to His victory by surrendering our lives, essentially killing the self-centered life in us, and letting Jesus resurrect Himself in us - let His Holy Spirit be the life in us.  It's a weird way to fight - surrender - but it's the only way to defeat the evil tendency we are born with and the evil forces of this world.