By Ken Yates
INTRODUCTION
In Luke 9:44, the Lord tells the disciples that He is going “to be betrayed into the hands of men.” Earlier, He had told them that the religious leaders were going to kill Him (Luke 9:21). Both these statements look forward to the crucifixion of Christ. Mark tells us that the disciples did not believe Him when He said He would die (Mark 8:32-33). Luke adds that the disciples did not understand what He was saying. The reason they did not understand was that Christ’s words were “hidden from them” (9:45).
Who, or what, was hiding these things from the disciples? Why couldn’t the disciples understand what Christ was teaching them?
WAS IT THE LORD’S INTENT?
Some might conclude that Christ was deliberately hiding the meaning of His words from the disciples. He did not want them to understand what He was saying because they were not ready for it. This would be like waiting to tell children about the facts of life until they are mature enough to handle the information.
Christians sometimes feel that God holds back knowledge from us. He wants us to work to obtain it. Perhaps they even believe the Bible contains hidden meanings that we are not intended to understand. This was a central tenet of the early heresy of Gnosticism. It taught that there are profound spiritual truths that can be known only by a person who undergoes an elaborate initiation process.
But it was not the Lord who was hiding the truth of His upcoming death from the disciples. Mark says that Jesus told them openly (Mark 8:32). He was not speaking in riddles or wanting them kept in the dark.
Something else prevented the disciples from believing that what the Lord said was true.
IT WAS MOMMY AND DADDY’S FAULT
The reason the disciples did not believe the Lord when He told them He was going to die was their background. Their parents had taught them religious traditions. These traditions were in direct opposition to what Jesus was saying.
Their parents had told them that the Christ would come one day and that when He did, the nation would accept Him as its king. He would then set the nation free from its enemies. Israel would become the center of a worldwide government.
Every Jewish religious leader told them the same thing. When the disciples went to the synagogue, that is the message they heard. The temple in Jerusalem, the center of their national life, looked forward to that glorious day.
Every aspect of their religious upbringing pointed toward this future powerful Jewish ruler. The disciples were convinced that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus said that He was the One. They had seen His miracles, which demonstrated that He was who He claimed to be. Some of the disciples had even seen His glory on a mountaintop (Luke 9:2–10). The disciples knew the OT prophecies that spoke of His coming glorious kingdom.
The nation couldn’t kill the King. The Jews could not turn Him over to the Gentiles, for He was going to be their conqueror. The religious traditions of the disciples would not allow them to believe that the Christ could be killed at the hands of Gentiles. Their traditions blinded them to the truth.
WHAT DID THEY THINK?
What did the disciples think when Jesus told them He would die and be turned over to the Gentiles? We only know that they didn’t believe Him. However, we can speculate on a few ways that they might have been thinking.
Perhaps they thought that He was a little discouraged because most of the religious leaders opposed Him. He just needed a little encouragement. It wasn’t as bad as He thought.
Perhaps they thought that He wasn’t feeling well. He’d had a rough night’s sleep. Once He felt better, He would drive such negative thoughts from His mind.
Most likely, however, they simply refused to believe what He said. We can all filter out what we don’t want to hear. The disciples, like all of us, could have walked away and said they didn’t understand what He was saying (Luke 9:45). Whatever He meant, it could not contradict their traditions. There was no need to lose sleep over any possible misunderstanding. It never occurred to them that their traditions might be wrong—that their traditions might be blinding them to truth.
WE HAVE OUR TRADITIONS
Most of those reading this article, as well as the author, grew up with some form of religious instruction. The people we looked up to for that instruction confirmed certain traditions. Our parents and church cultures did the same.
If you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, you have that life, and it can never be lost. But when you became a believer, you may have brought some traditions along with you. It is probable that, like the disciples, most believers have learned some traditional theology that is not based on a correct interpretation of Scripture. These traditions can make us blind to certain truths that the Lord teaches in His Word.
In my experience, the most common example of this blindness among believers is the view they have of the kingdom. Most people who believe in Christ for eternal life have been told that “heaven” will be way off in the clouds somewhere. We will all be equal and float around in some mystical, spiritual existence.
That is the traditional baggage I brought into the Christian life. What the Bible actually teaches is that in eternity future, believers will live on the new earth, not in the clouds. Christ will reward believers according to their faithfulness. On the new earth, some believers will be greater and have more authority than others.
When I first heard this, I didn’t believe it. My traditions kept me from seeing the truth. Just as the disciples ignored what Jesus told them, I ignored what others were telling me. I felt that either I misunderstood what they were saying or they didn’t mean what they said. Surely they misspoke.
Fortunately, I was eventually able to see the truth in this area. There is hope for our blindness. We can be cured, just as the disciples were delivered from their confusion.
THE NEEDED EYE SURGERY
The Lord knew that the disciples’ religious traditions had blinded them. The cure for their ailment was a simple one. He told them to, “Let these words sink down into your ears…” (Luke 9:44). Peter’s rebuke of the Lord and the failure of the disciples to believe what He was telling them revealed their blindness. But if they would compare their traditions with the words of the Lord, they could reject those traditions and see the truth.
Everyone needs such eye surgery. God’s Word can remove the blinding cataracts of our religious traditions. New believers come to faith with all kinds of blindness. Even those of us who have been believers for a long time will find we have certain blind spots.
Though we may love our traditions, let us allow the Word of God to do its work. When it becomes clear that we have been blind, may we discard our false traditions. They are the reason we cannot see.
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Ken Yates is a retired Army chaplain (Lt. Col). He has many theological degrees, including a Ph.D. from D.T.S. in New Testament. He leads the GES international ministry, cohosts the daily podcast, and assists Bob in all aspects of the GES ministry. His new book, Mark: Lessons in Discipleship, is a wonderful explanation of Christ’s call to discipleship. He and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia, SC.
