Mark 9:9-10
Sometimes
I think the disciples were rather slow. But I don’t want to be too harsh on
them. They were just like you and me, so the judgment I make on them, I make on
myself. But, come on, how hard is it to understand what “rise from the dead”
means?
I
think what happened to the disciples can happen to us. We get our minds set in
one direction and it can be very difficult to shift gears and change
directions. Once we see the world a certain way it can be hard to see things
any other way. We can be staring contrary evidence right in the face and we won’t
see it.
The
three closest disciples have followed Jesus up the mountain, gotten a glimpse
of the Kingdom of God, and now they must return back to earth. Ordinary life
might never be the same after that. At least that is what we would think. If
something like that happened to me, I would never forget it. I would never be
able to go back to ordinary. Or would I?
The
reality is that seeing miracles doesn’t necessarily make a permanent change in
a person’s life. The disciples had seen Jesus’ appearance change right before
their eyes. They had seen Moses and Elijah standing with Jesus talking. A cloud
had enveloped them and a voice spoke to them, telling them to listen. And then
in an instant the cloud and Moses and Elijah disappear. And yet they still miss
the point. Listen to Jesus.
Instead
of listening, they continue talking. They keep trying to figure it out. They
continue to not listen. They are stuck in a rut and don’t know how to get out. They
keep doing the same old thing and expecting a different result.
We
are just like them. We keep repeating the same familiar mistakes. We fall into
the same traps again and again. We miss the obvious. Jesus continues to say
that He will rise from the dead, and they keep looking for some secret,
complicated meaning in His words. Because they are expecting the Messiah to be
an earthly king who will defeat the Romans and free the Jews, their brains can’t
seem to process that Jesus is going to die and come back to life three days
later.
What
has the LORD been repeatedly speaking to you about, but that you haven’t
stopped to listen to what He has to say? Isn’t it time you listened? I know it
is for me!