7th April - Jesus Told Us So

Luke 18:31-34

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Reflections by Pastor Jim Jung

I became a Christian at age 20. But I grew up in a non-Christian home and considered myself an atheist until high school. Then God led me through a faith journey at 16 through a cousin who bothered to mention “Jesus” while sleeping over at my house. He piqued my interest, and I stayed up all night thinking about the universe, truth, purpose, origin and the possibility of God being real. I started attending his church, and it took me two years to become a general “theist” who consented to a higher creative power. Then it took another two more years to get to know the person of Jesus Christ in the Bible, and be confronted with the Good News of the Gospel. The “tipping point” for me was in realising that if a personal God can create the universe, including the earth and all the life in it, then it is possible for Jesus to perform miracles, defy death and be raised to life. If Jesus is indeed our divine Saviour!

What jumps out at you from this reading?

Jesus literally “spelled things out” for the disciples the exact account of what will take place before they ever happened. It really does not get any more explicitly clear! But to see that the disciples “understood none of these things” [v.34] shows that it takes more than our conventional senses to know God. We need our spiritual eyes to be opened by God

What questions does this reading raise for you?

It questions my own spiritual blindside. Even as a Christian who now sees the most important truth of the gospel, it makes me wonder, “What else am I missing?” and “How do I see more?”

What do you think the writer is urging his readers to believe or do?

That God is still under control! Even through our ignorance and lack of compliance, He continues to move His divine plan along to accomplish His will.

What in this reading would you talk about with a friend and why?

Jesus knew exactly what He was doing–giving of Himself to death on the cross for our sins. Yet He was happy to do it because of His great love for us.