The sense of purpose in Jesus’s ministry is starting to fully emerge. He is aligning himself with John, who was already making disciples when Jesus started his ministry. He is hinting at himself as being the person John foretells, which is a rare occurrence of Jesus revealing who he is. (Usually he tells people not to tell anyone.) He is also starting to divide disciples from power-hungry religious politicians. All of these things are headed somewhere, and it’s shaped like a cross.