I have often said, “I’m slow….but I’m here”. But this one takes the cake: There was this guy that lived next door and as I was cutting the grass I couldn’t help but notice him coming out three or four times, walking to the mailbox and opening it, and angrily slamming the door shut, then walking back inside. Finally, I stopped and asked him if everything was alright? He told me he was going to take his new computer back! He was fed up because every few minutes it said, “You’ve got mail”. Okay, maybe that didn’t really happen, but that’s the kind of stuff I do sometimes (according to my wife). “I’m slow….but I’m here”
Mark 9:30-32 (TNIV)
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands. He will be killed, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
Here is a little background: Jesus has now twice told the disciples that He will be delivered to the authorities, killed, and after three days….will rise again. They still fail to understand what would be accomplished by His death. In their minds I’m sure that they figure that there is no reason to rise from the dead if he’s never killed in the first place!
I’ve mentioned this before, but I will share it again. Why are they so slow to understand? Because they don’t have a firm grasp on who the Messiah is in the first place (kind of like the guy that doesn’t understand why there is no mail in his mailbox). They see Jesus as a warrior Messiah that has come to liberate Israel from the hands of the Romans and restore their dignity. Interestingly enough, they ignored or misunderstood many of their own past prophets.
Sometime, take a few minutes and read Isaiah 52:10 to 53:12. It was written over 500-600 years before Jesus was even born. Isaiah, of course, was one of the greatest of the Hebrew prophets. As you read it, you would probably think that it was actually in the New Testament and written about Jesus. It is a chapter that is often called, “The Suffering Servant”. These last verses of chapter 52 and all of the twelve verses of chapter 53 say it all….
So, maybe you recognize that Jesus is your Savior and Messiah. So maybe you have come to see that His wisdom is amazing truth in life. The question is, is Jesus YOUR Savior? Is Jesus YOUR Messiah? My point, and a point I try to make very often, is that we have to get beyond our fallen thinking that is based simply on knowledge and self-centeredness, and into a relationship with Jesus that means TRUSTING Him with every bit of our lives, indeed, every moment of our lives and being GOD-centered. Trusting in all the good and the entire struggle, when doors open and when they close.
Another huge point I want to make here is that the disciples had questions and doubts because they continued to want to put Jesus into “their” mold of who they expected Him to be. Instead, they should have simply seen who Jesus was and who He said He was. Interestingly enough, after the resurrection…..they did just that.
Is Jesus truly Lord of your life? Is Jesus who YOU want Him to be and so something always seems lacking? OR…..is Jesus simply who He said He was….our Lord and Savior, indeed, God Himself in the flesh.
Answering this question, I believe says a lot about understanding surrender and true humility, love and true God-centeredness rather than self-centeredness.
Luke 10:25-27 (TNIV)
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The key to all this is that Jesus did not come to simply be a miracle worker and to “fix” everything in our lives. Jesus is not the warrior on the stallion with a sword in His hands that has come to “fix” everything in one fell swoop. Indeed, Jesus came to “fix” things…..just not how we thought. Incidentally, not as the disciples thought either.
Jesus came as a suffering servant, teaching us how to surrender our heart and will to God and how to serve……how to serve our “neighbors”, meaning all those around us. When we love God and care about others (that means ALL others, even people we don’t like), when we surrender our hearts to Jesus and become “last”….we find ourselves being “first”.
You can indeed find restoration in your life by surrendering your will to Jesus! Okay, now I get it! I may be slow…..but I’m here!