Luke 18:31-34
Can you imagine trying to explain to
someone who lived in 1873, 150 years ago, that people would be using cell
phones in the future to communicate. First of all, they did not even know what
a telephone was much less a cell phone. Alexander Graham Bell didn’t get his
first patent awarded for the telephone until 1876. AT & T wasn’t even
formed until 1885. We did not have a phone in our house until the 1960’s. So,
no matter how hard you tried to explain what a cell phone was, it would fall on
deaf ears. They would not understand. It was way beyond even their
imaginations. In 1870, having a telephone in your home was unimaginable, much
less that people would one day be carrying a small device around with them and
that they use it to talk to someone who was on the other side of the world, via
satellites. What’s a satellite? What’s a computer? It is hard to believe that
150 years ago, these inventions did not
exist. So, trying to explain any of these inventions to someone who lived 150
years ago, would be almost impossible.
They would not understand. Well, 2000 years ago, Jesus tried to explain to His
disciples that He was the Son of God, that He was going to die for the sins of
mankind and three days later rise from the grave. He tried to explain this on
three separate occasions and each time they did not understand. Matthew, Mark,
and Luke record all three of the occasions. Luke records the last time Jesus
tried to explain to the disciples what was going to take place, He was on His
way to Jerusalem to die in Luke 18:31-33. READ Luke 18:31-33. On two previous
occasions, Jesus had given them this same message and they did not understand.
In Luke 9:18-22, we read of the first occasion. READ Luke 9:18-22. After
telling them the first time, how did they respond? Matthew records Peter’s
response in Matthew 16:22. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Jesus. He
did not want to hear these words that Jesus had spoken. Peter said, “Never
Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Jesus responded harshly to Peter, “Get
behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the
concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Peter was thinking of himself
rather than Jesus what Jesus was trying to tell them. Jesus was doing His
Father’s will and Peter wanted Jesus to stay with them. He certainly did not
want Jesus to die. Right before this encounter with Jesus, Peter responded to a
question that Jesus asked him. Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” Peter
responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter believed that
Jesus was the Son of God but he did not understand. The second time Jesus told
the disciples about what would soon take place is recorded in Luke
9:44-45. READ Luke 9:44-45. How did the
disciples respond after the second time. Luke wrote that they began arguing
over which one of them would be the greatest. Matthew 17:23 tells us that the
disciples were filled with grief. Mark wrote that they did not understand what
he meant but were afraid to ask him about it. So, after telling the disciples
on three separate occasions that He was going to Jerusalem to die and be raised
three days later, the disciples did not understand. You may be wondering why
couldn’t they understand. These same disciples had seen the miracles Jesus
performed time and time again. There are 37 miracles recorded in the Gospels.
Luke 18:34 tells us that the disciples did not understand because its meaning
was hidden from them and they did not know what he was talking about. The
disciples walked with Jesus for three years and Jesus knew that they would not
understand until they saw Him after He had risen from the grave. We realize
this when we read what the Apostle John wrote in John 12:16 – “At first His
disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they
realize that these things had been written about Him and that these things had
been done to Him.” God doesn’t expect us to understand. He expects us to
believe. We have the privilege of hindsight. The disciples did not. They were
participants of prophesy being fulfilled. When they saw Jesus after He had risen
from the grave everything that He told them and everything He did took on a new
meaning. Their understanding became even more apparent when Jesus departed and
the Holy Spirit came. In John 14:26, Jesus told the disciples “But the
Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Acts 1:8
Jesus told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you. Acts 2 records the Holy Spirit filling the disciples. The disciples now
understood. They became witnesses for Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
We are not always going to understand why God does what He does.
Remember He doesn’t expect us to understand. He expects us to believe. The
disciples did not understand what Jesus was telling them until after they had
seen Him resurrected. They even began to understand more and more when the Holy
Spirit came upon them. However, a lost person does not understand anything
spiritually. Only when they put their faith and trust in Jesus for their
salvation do they begin to understand, like scales being removed from their
eyes. They become filled with the Holy Spirit who teaches, convicts, and guides
them to a better understanding. As Christians, there will always be things or
circumstances that we fail to understand but one day, all will be revealed to
those who know Jesus Christ.
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