An Interesting Scene

Scripture – Luke 9:42-45: 42Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44“Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Reflection: What an interesting scene! The demon tried to show its power right in Jesus’ face. Jesus, of course, is stronger than any demon. So the boy was healed in the midst of the crowd. The people were amazed and were talking about what Jesus did.

At that moment, Jesus turned to His disciples with His warning about being betrayed. Why did He do that? Did He recognize the excitement of the crowd was just a surface thing – something that would soon be forgotten?

Whatever the reason, the disciples did not understand. What’s puzzling is why were they afraid to ask for clarification? I ask questions all the time when I don’t understand something someone says. Why do you think they were afraid? What keeps you from understanding some of the things Jesus says?

An Invitation: A small group will be meeting this coming Sunday morning from 9:45 – 10:30am to share what we’ve learned and seen in this week’s readings. We meet in the Pastor’s office at Bethel Baptist Church, 13330 Trenton Road in Southgate. Everyone’s welcome to join us.