Back before GPS navigation you actually had to pay attention when you drove someplace new. You would have the map open and you would be looking for specific roads and intersections. If it was totally unfamiliar territory, you paid even closer attention to the points between you and the next turn. When you passed through a town along the way, check! Over the river, check! Past the interstate exchange, check! Turn right past the old mill, check!
When you purchase a ready to assemble product, the directions for assembly include a list of needed parts. If you are smart you will make sure all the parts are there before you start assembly. And when you are finished assembling, there shouldn’t be any parts left over! Completing each step in order makes assembly easier and more efficient. Your chances of success are greater if you follow the directions.
Life is filled with sequences and milestones that must be met. You don’t move to the next step until the previous one is complete. You can’t begin the task until all the pieces have been assembled. You must meet the all qualifications before you will be considered for the job. There is no use applying if you don’t meet one of the basic qualifications for the position, like education and experience. You application will just get discarded if you lack one of the qualifications. Other people will get the position.
Over the hundreds of years before Jesus came, the religious scholars had studied the Old Testament Scriptures and discovered much about the timeline and qualifications of the Messiah. He had to come from David’s hometown, Bethlehem. And before He could take up His position a prophet filling Elijah’s shoes would have to appear and complete his ministry. He would perform miracles, signs and wonders, as proof of His identity.
It is one of those check boxes that have the disciples questioning. They have missed Elijah’s coming. John the Baptist filled Elijah’s shoes. His call to repentance and his manner of living paralleled his. And John’s role in announcing the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, also had been completed. But they had missed it, along with the religious leaders. Because Jesus didn’t have an army to command, He didn’t fit their idea of the Messiah, no check!
But for Jesus, the disciples are getting off track again. They aren’t listening to what He is saying and doing. They are focused on the trees, not the forest. They are so focused on one intersection along the journey that they miss the detour sign and end up circling in the wilderness.
Jesus answers their question about Elijah without going into detail. And then He circles back to what they keep missing. Part of the Old Testament picture of the Messiah was His suffering and rejection. Who wants to hear about the hero who suffers and is rejected? We want a hero who will vanquish our enemies. So because of their checkboxes, they have missed Elijah and they will miss the Messiah.
What part of God’s plan for your life are you missing because it isn’t fitting into your checkbox sequence? What restrictions have you placed on God’s work in your life? What things have to happen ‘before’ you will accept and move forward? What has to happen before you will obey?
The Arnold Journey 