Then He took the
twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and
all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be
accomplished. "For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked
and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third
day He will rise again." But they understood none of these things; this
saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were
spoken. (Luke 18:31-34 NKJ)
It was a sad time,
it was a happy time. It was a time of exposure, it was time of covering.
Travelers were on the way to Jerusalem for the Passover. The Son of Man was
traveling that road but no one recognized him, not even his disciples. At
various places, he had interrupted this trip by stopping to heal the sick,
bless little children, and answer questions by seekers.
Somewhere on this
journey, he stopped and explained to his disciples why they were going to
Jerusalem. Everything the prophets had written about him must be fulfilled --
would be fulfilled -- in Jerusalem. The prophets had foretold that he would be
arrested and turned over to the Gentiles, who would physically abuse him.
The prophets had
written how he would be beaten and killed. They had also written that he would
be resurrected on the third day. He rehearsed all these prophecies with his
disciples, but the disciples did not understand any of them. They simply could
not comprehend what he was telling them. The revelations of the prophecies were
hidden from them, even though the Son of Man himself explained them. "They
did not know the things he discussed."
I think this is the
saddest event of all. He revealed truth about himself, but they could not
understand because the revelation was hidden from them. Luke infers that they
should have had some prior knowledge in order to properly grasp the Lord's
explanations. I wonder if their unbelief was the blocking factor. I wonder
whether their prior understanding hid the truth so that they could not see it.
Had they believed
the rabbinical doctrine of a Conquering Messiah for so long that their minds
simply ignored the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53? Despite three years of
living with him, even acknowledging him as "Christ, the Son of the
Living God," they failed to fully grasp his identity and mission.
Dear Father, thank you for revealing yourself.
Empower me to study your revelations so that I may know these things and be
able to pass them on to faithful people. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment