Friday, October 24, 2008

Matthew 20:17-19 "Truth Revealed, Yet Hidden"

Read Matthew 20:17-19.

"Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them...." NIV

This little passage absolutely amazes me. It is packed full of prophesy, all about Jesus, and it all comes true just as He says. Now I'm not amazed that Jesus could make these predictions, after all He is God. But what boggles my mind is 1) the disciples did not have any reactions and 2) that people today can still not believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

After Jesus' declaration to His disciples, there is no response, reaction, argument, nothing from His men. In Luke's account of this, he notes in Luke 18:34 that the disciples did not understand -- it's meaning was hidden from them. Hidden by whom? Satan? Surely not God since God just told them what was going to happen. Some commentators say the disciples were ignorant of the prophesies. I would doubt that. They should have been raised with the Torah teaching and thus be aware of the prophesies for the Messiah's coming and His suffering. Others say that the disciples had no sense of the weight of the words Jesus was speaking. The third commentary I read made the most sense where the disciples' concept of the prophesy did not match up in their minds with the way they saw Jesus working in the lives of the people. The two concepts simply would not mesh. Therefore, the meaning was hidden from them not by ignorance, but by needing to see outside of their paradigm. They could believe Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of Man. But to take the stretch to believe that the prophesies would apply to Him was just too much for them to comprehend.

So how can people today not believe Jesus is who He says He is? Here is a man whose life under three accounts written about Him, predicted His own betrayal wheNumbered Listn He is handed over to the chief priests. The fact that they would condemn Him to death and turn Him over to the secular authorities. That He would be flogged and crucified. And here's the clincher, 2 days later he'd come back to life. What are the odds of listing all those events beforehand and they all come true. The odds must be astronomical. Yet so many still don't believe.

Does following Christ take steps of faith? Absolutely. But simply looking at the facts covers more ground than anyone else ever accomplished claiming the position of Deity. And yet today, for so many, the meaning is still hidden.

Further Thoughts:

  1. Look up the prophesies in the Old Testament about Jesus' betrayal, death, and resurrection.
  2. Why do people still not believe today? What is keeping the truth hidden from them? Support with Scripture.

No comments:

Post a Comment