Avoiding the Hard Questions

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The answer is: Pepperoni, Mushrooms & Sausage. 



Scripture:


Luke 9:43b While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.


Observation:


Jesus continues to focus on the training and education of his disciples. We have the privilege of knowing the end of the story, but the disciples do not. All of the acts of Jesus are serving to reveal to the disciples his true identity. If they don’t really know Jesus, then they won’t understand true discipleship. 


Luke allows us to see the struggle of the disciples. They find his teaching beyond them, and they seem to be afraid to ask any clarifying questions. Everything Jesus was saying was not what they wanted to hear. 


Application:


I’m afraid that the journey of discipleship is not often portrayed in the serious nature that it requires. Following Jesus means that we have to ask and face the tough questions. Truly serving the Lord means that we will not always be liked by those in the world. We will live counter-culturally. Jesus’ disciples were disappointed that he wasn’t going to be the political leader that they wanted him to be and that they weren’t going to have earthly power and position. Their misunderstanding is actually the next portion of scripture, where they argue over their places in the kingdom. No wonder they didn’t want to ask any clarifying questions — they wanted to hold onto their own ideas of who he was. 


The cost of discipleship is great. Following the Father’s will meant that Jesus would be betrayed and put to death. We may be avoiding the hard questions because we don’t want to know what it really means to be a disciple. Jesus’ kingdom is not the kingdom of this world. We are on a journey that leads through eternity, not just tomorrow. The hard questions need to be asked if we are to follow Jesus into a realm that is beyond our understanding. The hard questions lead us to understanding Christ’s true identity, and it is this revelation of true identity that leads us to real discipleship. 


Prayer:


Lord, help me not to be afraid to ask the hard questions. Amen. 

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