Luke 9:43-45

Luke 9:43-45

And while all were marveling upon all the things that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Place these words into your ears!  For the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of mankind.”  And they were not understanding this saying – it was even being concealed from them in order that they should not perceive it.  And they were afraid to ask Him regarding this saying.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The world wonders at Jesus.  The disciples wonder at Jesus.  It is natural to wonder at all of the amazing ways that God interacts with us.  However, notice what Jesus does.  Jesus doesn’t let them wonder.  He doesn’t let them stay amazed.  Jesus begins to teach them again.  Jesus doesn’t miss an opportunity.  They want to be amazed and bask in the glory of it all.  Jesus is moving on into the next lesson.  His focus is always on what God is about to do, not what He has already done.

Do you ever get caught marveling at the past instead of preparing for what God plans to do?  Have you ever missed a lesson because you were too busy being caught up in the moment?

Second Thought:

Jesus tells His disciples the honest truth.  Jesus is about to be handed off into the power of mankind.  Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for what God is ultimately going to do.  But they didn’t get it.  They didn’t understand.  They were too overwhelmed by what God had done that they couldn’t grasp what God was getting ready to do.  Of course, I’m not sure that I can fault them.  Had I been in their shoes, I doubt I would have had any more of a clue than them.

Why is it dangerous to be focused on the past?  Why do we have an inherently difficult time being able to understand the present and future when we focus upon the past?

Third Thought:

Furthermore, they are afraid to ask.  I can see them being afraid for multiple reasons.  First of all, I can see them being afraid because they don’t understand.  They don’t want to look stupid or slow.  They don’t want to give Jesus the idea that they aren’t worthy of following Him.  But it might also be that they are afraid to ask because they can’t figure out how what Jesus is saying could be any good at all.  How can being handed over into the hands of mankind end well?  They may not want to know, so they don’t ask.  In any case, they stay in their ignorance because of their fear.

When has your fear kept you from understanding?  What are you afraid of enough that you would not want to know about it from God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:46-48