Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Believe Jesus' Word (John 2:18-22)



Today's scriptures: John 2:18-22

Jesus came to earth to pay the penalty for my sin—for your sin. He told His disciples on more than one occasion that He would be betrayed, He would be killed, He would be buried, and He would rise again (
Matthew 12:40; Mark 8:31; Luke24:46).

In fact, in Matthew 20:18-19, Jesus couldn't have been more explicit:
“Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.” (MSG)
Yet, His disciples didn't get it.

Even after walking with Jesus for three years, watching Him perform miracle, and hearing Him teach, they still didn't understand how God was going to offer forgiveness through the once-for-all sacrifice of His Son.

It's easy for us to shake our heads and wonder why they didn't understand Jesus' words, but I wonder if we would have been any different. They expected a triumphal King who would destroy their enemies. They didn't expect a humble Messiah who went quietly to His death. They ran in terror when Jesus was arrested. They hid in fear for their lives after His death. We probably would have done the same.

They didn't get it ... until He appeared to them, alive and well. It was only then that they "remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken" (John 2:22).

We too can remember what Jesus said, how He prophesied of His own death and resurrection, and we too can "believe the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken."


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