A little section from my reading in Mark is on my mind tonight: Mark 9:32-35.
"From there they (Jesus and the disciples) went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.' But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him."- Mark 9:30-32, NASB
Maybe the disciples thought Jesus would question their lack of understanding. Some of them had witnessed Him bringing Jairus' daughter back to life. It was just in the last chapter; which as far as I can tell was maybe a a week or two earlier; that Jesus had told them He was going to suffer, be killed and rise again after three days (sound familiar?) and Peter took Him aside to rebuke Him. And six days after that low point in Peter's life Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain and they witnessed His transfiguration, saw Moses and Elijah, and heard the voice of God the Father tell them, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." I can't be too hard on them because I can be pretty slow to understand myself. I had never noticed before how Jesus had removed them from everyone else so that He could have this very important talk with them. Maybe He was even giving them the opportunity to ask questions. I am doing a study of Ephesians and last week we covered the verse that talks about our ability to come boldly and confidently to God. (Eph. 3:12) This is one of the blessings we have. We do not have to fear coming to Him, not with anything. If we have questions- He wants us to ask. I ask all the time; like a little child I can be full of questions some days as I read God's Word. It isn't always clear. That's why I believe the best way to approach Scripture is in prayer.
Moving on to the rest of those verses in Mark:
"They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest."
Are you like me upon reading this-groaning in disbelief? Why on earth would the disciples be discussing who was greatest when Jesus had just talked to them about what was coming and they did not understand? I must tell you, I love the fact that I get together with a group of women every week to sit down and discuss God's Word. I love that we share our thoughts and ask questions in our desire to understand what He is trying to say to us. I love that I am sitting here on this side of the resurrection and have the Holy Spirit for a guide. I cannot be too hard on the disciples. The Lord has spoken very plainly to me at times through His Word and I don't get it. Far too often I spend my time pondering things that have no lasting value. And even more disturbing are the times when I ponder things that I know from my time in the Word are not good for me. So I cannot be too hard on the disciples.
Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Deb
"From there they (Jesus and the disciples) went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.' But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him."- Mark 9:30-32, NASB
Maybe the disciples thought Jesus would question their lack of understanding. Some of them had witnessed Him bringing Jairus' daughter back to life. It was just in the last chapter; which as far as I can tell was maybe a a week or two earlier; that Jesus had told them He was going to suffer, be killed and rise again after three days (sound familiar?) and Peter took Him aside to rebuke Him. And six days after that low point in Peter's life Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain and they witnessed His transfiguration, saw Moses and Elijah, and heard the voice of God the Father tell them, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." I can't be too hard on them because I can be pretty slow to understand myself. I had never noticed before how Jesus had removed them from everyone else so that He could have this very important talk with them. Maybe He was even giving them the opportunity to ask questions. I am doing a study of Ephesians and last week we covered the verse that talks about our ability to come boldly and confidently to God. (Eph. 3:12) This is one of the blessings we have. We do not have to fear coming to Him, not with anything. If we have questions- He wants us to ask. I ask all the time; like a little child I can be full of questions some days as I read God's Word. It isn't always clear. That's why I believe the best way to approach Scripture is in prayer.
Moving on to the rest of those verses in Mark:
"They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?' But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest."
Are you like me upon reading this-groaning in disbelief? Why on earth would the disciples be discussing who was greatest when Jesus had just talked to them about what was coming and they did not understand? I must tell you, I love the fact that I get together with a group of women every week to sit down and discuss God's Word. I love that we share our thoughts and ask questions in our desire to understand what He is trying to say to us. I love that I am sitting here on this side of the resurrection and have the Holy Spirit for a guide. I cannot be too hard on the disciples. The Lord has spoken very plainly to me at times through His Word and I don't get it. Far too often I spend my time pondering things that have no lasting value. And even more disturbing are the times when I ponder things that I know from my time in the Word are not good for me. So I cannot be too hard on the disciples.
Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Deb
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