And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said (Luke 18:31-34). This is the third time that Jesus had spoken of this to His disciples. In this gospel, the first two times are recorded in chapter 9, the first of which yields no reaction from the disciples (at least no recorded reaction); and the second time, the reaction is much the same as what we have here. They didn't understand because the saying was hidden from them. This humbled me afresh this morning. It reminded me of how God's plans for the extent of man's understanding are just that: His plans. Now it seems that what happened at this occurrence was not some sort of time stopping magic. You know, like those movies where suddenly everyone on the scene except that one individual keeps moving among a crowd of wax-like figures. The disciples heard what He was saying, but apparently, even though He'd been saying it other times, they weren't getting it, and part of the reason for this is that an actual "block" was being set in place restricting their access to this knowledge.
This does some things for the one reading it. For one, it brings the reader to a place of quiet. I like people to know that I know things, but this passage reminds me that truth belongs to God, and He's under no obligation to make all the details of any true thing fully known or understood by you or I. And while I can have confidence that the Spirit reveals many things and that God gives understanding to His disciples as they seek it, I'm desperately limited and need to remember to always point people straight to Him instead of ever giving the impression that they should terminate on me in their truth seeking. But secondly, just as I would want to do that directing work, I'm reminded of how I need to keep my eyes on Him as well throughout the learning process; I can't really grasp truth without knowing the Author. A conduit itself needs to be anchored securely to the right place if it is to make right deliveries and pipe the correct received information.
Remember with me the disciples, people who were right there with Jesus and missed things that were flashing like neon signs right before them. Remember and be humbled, speaking as a receiver and not as a source, listening as a learner who's got so far to go. And trust that God gives just what we need to grasp as we seek Him.
This does some things for the one reading it. For one, it brings the reader to a place of quiet. I like people to know that I know things, but this passage reminds me that truth belongs to God, and He's under no obligation to make all the details of any true thing fully known or understood by you or I. And while I can have confidence that the Spirit reveals many things and that God gives understanding to His disciples as they seek it, I'm desperately limited and need to remember to always point people straight to Him instead of ever giving the impression that they should terminate on me in their truth seeking. But secondly, just as I would want to do that directing work, I'm reminded of how I need to keep my eyes on Him as well throughout the learning process; I can't really grasp truth without knowing the Author. A conduit itself needs to be anchored securely to the right place if it is to make right deliveries and pipe the correct received information.
Remember with me the disciples, people who were right there with Jesus and missed things that were flashing like neon signs right before them. Remember and be humbled, speaking as a receiver and not as a source, listening as a learner who's got so far to go. And trust that God gives just what we need to grasp as we seek Him.
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