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Day 226

Luke 18:31-43 "ANOTHER PRIVATE WORD"

Day 226 – Luke 18

Text: Luke 18:31-43

ANOTHER PRIVATE WORD

There may have been many people to counsel and teach, but always Jesus would set aside time to teach His Disciples. Once again, He brought up the subject of His suffering and death.

“Then He took The Twelve aside and said to them,
‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and all things that are written by the prophets
concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ “
Luke 18:31

This, of course was not the first time Jesus spoke to His Disciples about His suffering and death . On a previous occasion, Jesus had spoken to His Disciples concerning His suffering, but at that point of time, they had not been able to fully comprehend what He meant.

” ‘Let these words sink down into your ears,
for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed
into the hands of men.’
But they did not understand this saying,
And it was hidden from them so that
They did not perceive it,
And they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.”
Luke 9:44-45

Jesus would make veiled references to His death from time to time. Consider the following statements He made concerning His death…

“I have a baptism to be baptized with,
And how distressed I am till it is accomplished!”
Luke 12:50

“Go, tell that fox (Herod),
‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures
Today and tomorrow, and the third day
I shall be perfected.’
Nevertheless, I must journey today, tomorrow,
And the day following;
For it cannot be that a prophet should perish
Outside of Jerusalem.”
Luke 13:32-33

Again and again, Jesus would drop hints to His Disciples that He would die. He even told them that He would die in Jerusalem. However the full significance of this truth was not fully comprehended up till now.

A TIME FOR GREATER EXPLANATION

What hindered the Disciples from understanding this truth? A combination of factors may be considered…

1. When Jesus first broached this subject, the Disciples were still not conversant enough with the Biblical prophecies concerning the suffering, death and resurrection of the Son of Man.

2. In subsequent references, Jesus spoke in cryptic fashion, and thus the Disciples did not have a clear statement from their Teacher.

3. They did not dare to ask Jesus what He meant, though in other issues they always sought a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus.

4. It is possible that they had grown to love Jesus too much to want to think of Him suffering. They could not detach themselves from their Teacher.

5. Added to all these was the Divine will of God to withhold understanding from the Disciples until the appropriate time.

That time was now. There were not too many days left. Jesus was already in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Tension was building up. Time was running out. The Disciples must learn more and be prepared for the day when Jesus would be captured and suffer under the hands of wicked men.

“BEHOLD, WE ARE GOING UP TO JERUSALEM…” Luke 18:31

Jesus had already spoken about how Jerusalem had always killed the prophets of God. He knew that He too would suffer and be killed in Jerusalem (Luke 13:33; 18:31). The words were uttered with great poignancy. The Disciples must understand what would transpire… shortly!

Jesus sought to fortify the faith of His Disciples by bringing them once again to the Word of God. There were many Scripture passages that either alluded to the suffering of the Messiah, or spoke directly about the suffering of the Messiah. Jesus had to teach His Disciples deeply concerning His suffering and death.

It was all in the Scriptures. Jesus wanted His Disciples never to lose faith and focus. God had given them the Scriptures for a good reason. Prophecies were written to be fulfilled. Prophecies must be understood carefully for they serve to prepare the heart and mind for the inevitable outcome.

It was important that the Disciples ready themselves for the day when Jesus would fulfil other prophecies. No matter how difficult, no matter how painful it was for the Disciples to cope with the reality that their beloved Master would suffer and die, they must still be as prepared as possible.

Non-preparation would be even more disastrous. Jesus began to set aside even more time to prepare His beloved Disciples for the sufferings that He would have to endure in a short while’s time. How the Disciples must have struggled within themselves as Jesus taught them about His personal suffering and impending death.