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!
The Arnold Journey 