"They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He [Jesus] did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they [the disciples] did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
—Mark 9:30-32 (NRSV)
—Mark 9:30-32 (NRSV)
I like the disciples in the Gospel account of Mark in the Bible. Why? Because I can really relate to them. They miss the point…A LOT. The’re portrayed as really human, and downright dullards at times.
Many days, I feel more like a disciple of the disciples than a disciple of Jesus.
This passage is one of 3 passages in Mark where Jesus warns his disciples that stuff is about to go down, and they need to know. However, each time—whether from fear, from pride, or from self-righteous indignation—the disciples gloss right over what Jesus says and move on to their own interests or understandings of this “Kingdom of God.” Then, when Jesus is crucified, the disciples freak out and desert and deny Jesus. Then they freak out again when Jesus is resurrected.
At this point, I’m always like: "HELLO! It’s not like Jesus didn’t tell you what was going to happen….duh…" ~insert eye roll, hair-flip and self-righteousness~
How many times have I asked God for a sign of what is going to happen, when I’ve already got signs all around me. How many times do I want to know what God is up to (sort-of?), but I’m really too afraid to ask (or maybe-I don’t really wanna know)?
Perhaps followers of Jesus should not be asking for more signs, but seeking to accurately understand and apply the signs we’ve already been given.
