Teach Me, Jesus!
“They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.” (Mark 9:30-32)
Jesus Christ exercises three offices as our Savior – prophet, priest, and king. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches: “Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by His Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.” As fully God, His word is perfect – perfect in clarity, perfect in simplicity, perfect in insight, perfect in every way. As fully man, His word is expressed in tones and hues of which the smallest child can understand. However, in our passage, the problem lies not with Jesus, but with us. He sends the perfect signal, but we are poor receivers. The issue can be summed up under two heads: our lack of understanding of His words and our lack of understanding His heart.
First, we fail to understand Jesus’ words. This may offend you. You may throw this paper in the trash with fierce indignation, boldly claiming that you are a graduate of Hinds Community College. Incited as you are, this only proves the point. The Bible rarely reprimands us for the inability to read; rather, the Bible reprimands us for a lack of spiritual understanding. Is this not what Isaiah means when he says that we have “eyes, but do not see?” Or Paul: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are follow to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14) What we need is not a seminary degree; what we need is faith. If He has come to us as a prophet, faith raises its hand and says, “Jesus, I don’t understand. Teach me!”
Alongside this, we fail to understand Jesus’ heart. They “were afraid to ask Him.” Afraid – isn’t that a telling word? What were they afraid of? His wrath? He is their Savior. His disappointment? He is their Friend. His stinginess? He is giving Himself! If these disciples but knew His heart, they would pour out every question and concern – their ignorance, their hardheartedness, their everything. His love is like the sun that never grows dimmer by shining, and yet we stay in the shade as if we could exhaust His supply.
My friends, our dear Savior loves us, not despite our ignorance, but because of our ignorance. He came to us when our minds were darkened and hearts were hardened; therefore, we should not hesitate to take both to Him. The Sun of Righteousness has risen that in His light we may see light. Look to Him, and you will find “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” (Phil. 1:9)
