Caught Off Guard

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Mark 9:30–32‌

‌As Jesus and His disciples pass through Galilee, it appears that they are already journeying south towards Jerusalem and towards Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus is fully aware of this and takes pains to prepare His disciples for what's ahead. That’s why He tries to keep their location a secret, so He can give the disciples some private instruction.

And what is it that Jesus teaches them? He says, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” The original language is more forceful than the English. Literally, it says the “Son of Man is delivered” as though it had already happened. Jesus is emphasizing how suddenly His death will come. He will be betrayed, delivered into the hands of men, and killed. Then, He will rise from the dead. And all of this will happen soon.

But in spite of the pains Jesus took to prepare them for His coming crucifixion, when the time came the disciples were still caught off guard. They were sleeping just before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter thought he was ready to suffer with Jesus, but he found out he wasn’t ready to in the courtyard of the high priest where he denied Jesus three times. And after the crucifixion, it wasn’t the disciples but the chief priests and the pharisees who remembered that Jesus had said He would rise from the dead and placed a watch on His tomb... not the disciples. It seems like the disciples really didn’t expect Jesus to rise from the dead at all, otherwise they would’ve been there on the third day waiting to greet Him.

There’s a lesson here for us. The disciples were living in the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. He had told them again and again what was going to happen, yet they were still caught off guard. We live in the last days before Jesus’ second coming. Scripture tells us again and again what will happen when Jesus comes back. 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

And Scripture tells us to be ready. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus commands us to “keep watch… [to] be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:42–44) Don’t make the same mistake the disciples made. Don’t be caught off guard. Live in light of Jesus’ imminent return.

They Still Don't Get It

He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Mark 9:31-32

The disciples still don't get it. Out of everyone on earth, these twelve have been given a front row seat to the Messiah and His ministry. And they still don’t get that He must suffer and die and rise again!

‌‌This should be encouraging to us. It took the disciples a while to get it. But, Jesus didn’t give up on them. Jesus was patient with them. He kept telling them what was going to happen over and over again until they got it. And eventually they did get it. In fact, this truth so changed their lives that God used these men to turn the world upside down by proclaiming this very truth: that Jesus suffered, died and rose again. 

So, if you feel like you just aren’t getting it, know that that’s okay. God isn’t going to give up on you. Pray for understanding and give yourself grace and keep trying to understand.

‌‌And do the same for others. Don’t get discouraged if the people you're inviting to church or are sharing Jesus with don’t get it at first. Do what Jesus did. Don’t give up on them. Just keep telling them the truth and giving it time to sink in. Keep inviting your unchurched friends to church. Keep sharing Jesus with the lost. Don’t get discouraged if they don’t get it right away. Be patient with them.

Up the Mountain with Jesus

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.

Mark 9:2

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Why did Jesus make these three disciples climb all the way up a high mountain to be transfigured in front of them? He could have done this in a much more convenient location, so why up a mountain?

‌‌Throughout Scripture, God often appeared to His people on mountain tops. It was on Mt. Sinai that God first revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush. And it was on the same mountain that God spoke to Israel out of a dense cloud of thunder and lightning. And where did God send Abraham, to test him, by commanding him to offer his beloved son Isaac up as a sacrifice? It was atop Mount Moriah. And what about the Prophet Elijah? Where was he when the Lord appeared to him with a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire? He was on Mt. Horeb wasn’t he? But the Lord wasn’t in the strong wind. He wasn’t in the earthquake, and He wasn’t in the fire. He came as a still small voice didn’t He? In all these stories God met His people on top of a mountain.

‌‌And, incidentally, in Exodus 24, when God called Moses up Mt. Sinai to give him the Ten Commandments, Moses went partially up the mountain and waited six days before God called to him and invited him to enter the cloud of His presence. It’s interesting then, that Mark says Jesus took them up the mountain after six days.

‌‌So, why up a mountain? Two reasons. First, it connects Jesus’ transfiguration with other stories from Scripture where men saw or heard from God. It’s a hint that what these three disciples are about to witness is nothing less than a revelation of who God is.

‌‌Second, I believe this story, and all the other stories of people climbing mountains to meet God, show that while salvation is free, a close relationship with God takes work. Have you ever climbed a mountain? It’s hard work! The disciples likely had to get up early and walk for hours with aching legs. It was probably late morning or lunchtime before they reached the top. But when they got there, they were all alone with Jesus. Sometimes getting alone with God, takes effort and work.

Any relationship takes effort. Being close to God is no different. If you want to be close to God, if you want to stay close to God, then you are going to have to put in the work to have that close relationship with Him. I’m not talking about salvation. I’m talking about intimacy, closeness.

If you aren’t willing to get up early or stay up late to read your Bible, if you aren’t willing to pray (and keep praying even after you get bored), if you aren’t willing to turn off the TV or put down your phone to spend time with God, then you won’t be as close to Jesus as you could be. As much as we fret over the “major sins” making inroads in the lives of Christians today, perhaps the sin doing the most damage in our lives is a simple lack of desire to know God, a lack of willingness to climb the mountain and do the hard work of pursuing closeness with Him.

‌‌If you don’t have the close relationship with God that you want, let me ask, “Have you been putting in the work? Have you been climbing that mountain every day to go meet with Him. Have you put in your six days of waiting? Or did you give up too quickly? Did you tap out when the Bible didn’t immediately make sense to you or when prayer wasn’t fun anymore?” If you want to be closer to God, start climbing the mountain.

It's Not About You

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3–4

Selfishness, it seems to me, is part and parcel of fallen human nature. Apart from God, most people have an inherently self-centered worldview. Whether you're the king of your own country or just the king of your own house, it’s easy for us as fallen people to think that the universe revolves around us.

‌‌It reminds me of the solar system model many of us had to make in school. We painted a styrofoam ball yellow to represent the sun then put all the other planets on hangers revolving around it. But functionally, most people don't live their lives in keeping with that model of the universe. If people were to make a model of the universe that's in keeping with how they actually live their lives, they'd have to put a big 'ME' at the center.

It’s sad when lost people look only to their own interests, when they put themselves first, but it's unthinkable that a Christian would live this way. Scripture reminds us that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Your actions should never be solely about advancing your own interests anymore because, as a Christian, your life isn’t just about you anymore! 

That's why it says you should humbly “value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” That one sentence is a kick in the gut to the Me-centric universe. Scripture commands you to value others above yourself, to look out not for your own interests but for the interests of others. In other words, your life isn’t about you. It’s about others…specifically other believers. You are part of the family of God. You live for far more than just yourself now.

‌‌Are you serving others, especially other believers? Or are you living for yourself?‌ When was the last time you put someone else ahead of yourself? Whose interests, other than your own, are you looking after? Or is your life all about YOU?