They did not comprehend the things that were said.

Luke 18:18-43 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” ²¹ And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” ²² When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²³ But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. ²⁴ And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You.” ²⁹ And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.”

³¹ Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ³² For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, ³³ and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” ³⁴ But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

³⁵ As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. ³⁶ Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.³⁷ They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, ⁴¹ “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” ⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has ^[f]made you well.” ⁴³ Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.

In today’s text Jesus says:  “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” But the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.  Jesus spoke clearly about what was to come. He did not speak in parables or riddles, yet they did not comprehend the things that were said.  How often do people hear the clear word of God, yet seemingly they do not comprehend it? Is it in part that we tend to hear what we want to hear? We tend to selectively block out the things that we don’t want to hear. John 1:1-5 says:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  There are mysteries of God. There are prophecies which cannot be fully understood with the natural human mind and must be discerned by the Spirit. The time of Christ’s return is one of those things. Jesus says: “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “ (Matthew 24:36) When we are unable to comprehend, we must simply believe in faith.   To the extent though that we do not understand or comprehend the clear word of God, what He has spoken plainly, is the extent to which there is still darkness around us or in us.

It is one thing to not fully understand the mysteries of God. It is one thing to question what is not clear. But when we question the clear word of God, what He has spoken plainly, we choose to reject truth and exchange it for a lie. In John 3:16 Jesus says: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  Many people hear and accept this simple clear word of God. But look at what else Jesus says in the context of this truth. Verses 17-21 say:   “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”   In truth then, when people choose darkness over light, it is not because of a lack of understanding. It is not that they do not comprehend what is right. When people ignore, relax or modify the clear word of God, when people selectively hear only what they want to hear, it is because they love darkness rather than light. In Isaiah 5:20 God clearly says:  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! There is a difference between lack of comprehension and choice. God clearly states the consequence of choosing darkness.  

It is one thing if we do not understand. James 1:5 says:  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  Today’s text ends saying:  As Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was.  They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”  And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him,  “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!”  And Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.   In the same way that Jesus gave sight to the blind man, He will also give us spiritual sight, insight, wisdom and understanding if we ask in faith.  It is one thing to believe in Christ. Our belief though must also be demonstrated in our choice regarding God’s clear word. Jesus says: “He who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  As with the blind man who regained His sight, when people see our good deeds, from our choice of coming to the Light, when we practice the truth, it glorifies the Father in heaven.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You for speaking clearly and illuminating the darkness. Thank You that You give wisdom and understanding to all who ask in faith. May I always discern truth by the Spirit and if I am uncertain may I walk in faith.   Amen.