The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what [Jesus] was talking about.
– Luke 18:34
Jesus couldn’t have been any clearer to His disciples. He told them exactly what would happen—His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. He told them three times! And still, it didn’t register. They didn’t understand.
We may be tempted to wonder how they could’ve missed it, but the truth is that sometimes God’s voice isn’t the problem; our expectations are.
The disciples were waiting for a powerful, immediate kingdom, and a suffering Messiah didn’t exactly fit the picture. His words remained hidden because they couldn’t reconcile them with what they were hoping to see.
We struggle with that too. In our own lives, we ask God for direction, yet when His leading takes us down a road marked by sacrifice, uncertainty, or discomfort, we hesitate. We linger where it feels safe because following Him may cost us. It might require letting go of control, risking failure, or walking a path that others may not understand. Faith doesn’t grow in certainty but in trust, and trust begins where understanding ends. The disciples would eventually come to understand that what looked like defeat was God’s pathway to resurrection and eternal life.
God was patient with them, and He’s patient with us. Even when we can’t see the whole road, He calls us to take the next step, not because we understand, but because we are to trust Him.
Hosanna, loud Hosanna
the little children sang;
through pillared court and temple
the lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them,
close folded to his breast,
the children sang their praises,
the simplest and the best.
– Jennette Threlfall (1873)
Former Blackout Artist 