Jesus Explains God’s Plan (Part Three)

Luke 18:31-34

Then he took the Twelve aside and told them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked, insulted, spit on; and after they flog him, they will kill him, and he will rise on the third day.” They understood none of these things. The meaning of the saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said (CSB).

Jesus’ teaching was not understood by the disciples. We, very sadly, have a “superstar” mentality in the American church regarding preachers and teachers. People assume that if they had a mega-gifted pastor that both they and their church would be much better. That assumption is wrong for several reasons, but notice in this text that the disciples understood nothing about what Jesus had taught them. None of these things! Now Jesus is the Teacher. Obviously, there are other factors than a great teacher in our growth in grace and knowledge.

Let’s learn some lessons about ourselves.

  • We are not nearly as smart and insightful as we give ourselves credit for being. Here were men who constantly heard the Lord Jesus teach for three years and who were eyewitnesses of many miraculous signs, and they didn’t understand any of this! How much of the Christian message can you explain to someone outside? Truthfully, what can you do? Picture yourself being asked tough questions by your friends. What can you tell them about God, mankind, sin, Christ and the way of salvation? If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for three years, you ought to be able to explain a lot!
  • We must not lose patience with one another in the church. We expect to say something once and everyone immediately understands. Peter, John and Matthew all wrote significant books in the Bible later on, but here they don’t know anything! However, we must apply ourselves to learning the Bible. Simply doing little devotional readings will not accomplish this.

Let’s learn some lessons about grace.

  • This text does not say who hid this from them or how it was hidden. Neither do the parallel passages in Matthew or Mark. So again, it is useless to speculate. Every Christian must learn to be silent where the text of the Bible is silent. That is a tough lesson to learn, because we have so many questions!
  • However, following on the heels of Christ’s instruction about the impossibility of salvation by human effort, we ought to think about how this lack of understanding can be corrected. This only happens when God teaches the truth to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit gave the New Testament Scriptures though the apostles and prophets, he explained the meaning and significance of the cross and the empty tomb to them. We have that explanation written in God’s word. We should praise God for this written instruction. But in another sense, we still need the work of the Holy Spirit, if we are to understand. Praise God; he can open minds darkened by sin to the glories of saving grace.

Has the Spirit of God given you an understanding of the sufferings and glories of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man? Are you relying on him for salvation? What is impossible for you is very possible for God.

Grace and peace, David