Then
he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to
I can understand the confusion of the twelve. Scholars have scoured the scriptures for “everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets”, looking for clues about Jesus. There is not much. Actually, that’s an understatement. There is nothing. So, even if these twelve guys knew their Bibles, they would not have understood what Jesus was talking about.
More than that, they are at the mercy of the narrative. This is the third time Jesus has told them about what is going to happen, and they just don’t get it. Maybe they think he’s depressed and expecting the worst. Maybe they truly cannot understand him. Maybe they think that there is no way that anything like what he’s describing could ever happen to someone they know.
The cross will shatter all of that. The illusion of security will be gone, and as a result their eyes will be open.
Sometimes we can hear about something repeatedly and not come close to understanding it. It is only when what is being described happens that we understand. The passion, death, & resurrection of Jesus Christ fall into that category for the twelve. He spelled it out for them three times and they didn’t get it. Even when it was happening they did not remember what he said. It was only after Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and was raised from the dead and appeared to the disciples that they began to understand what had happened.
Faith has to take on flesh. It has to be real. It has to translate into everyday life or it is idle chatter. When we live the word, reading it, receiving it, pondering it, acting upon it and allowing it to act upon us, we understand it, and then faith means something.
O God, may your Word so act upon us that the faith of your Son takes on flesh in us, that we might understand your purposes and work to bring in the reign of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
The Rev. Timothy A. Leitzke