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They Did Not Comprehend - Luke 18:31-34
They Did Not Comprehend - Luke 18:31-34
Here in chapter 18, Luke writes that Jesus told the apostles about his coming rejection, death, and resurrection. This was NOT the first time Jesus told them these things, for he spoke of them in Luke 9:21-27 and Luke 9:43-45. Now He speaks of these things again (Luke 18:31-34).
Luke records that they "did not comprehend the things that were said." They understood the WORDS, even the events that Jesus foretold. They could not comprehend that Jesus would die.
Most commentators that I read commented that they could not comprehend because this was so different from what they had been taught and were expecting concerning the Messiah. One wrote that is was "difficult for the disciples to square their belief in Jesus as the Messiah with the plain words he speaks”.*
They are not so different from us. Most of us had been taught things that simply were not true about religion. Upon hearing the truth, many of us struggled to comprehend that God actually meant what He said.
· Many people do not want to understand the truth. (John 3:19).
· Many people hold to lies rather than the truth. (2 Peter 3:3; 2Tim. 4:3-4).
· Many people pervert the truth in order to hold on to their false concepts and ideas. (2Peter 3:15-18; 2 Cor. 2:17; )
As difficult as changing habits are, it appears to me that changing our beliefs is often more difficult. It must begin with the admission that we are wrong. With such an admission, a whole new world of ideas opens up to us. We become teachable. We begin to understand ideas and concepts that were incomprehensible before. We begin the transformation into the very image of Jesus.
Hugh DeLong
*IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Craig Keener, Logos edition.
