“30 Then they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise three days later.” 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.”

Mark 9:30-32

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Several times throughout His ministry, Jesus gave prophetic glimpses to His disciples as to what was going to happen to Him. He did this for multiple reasons, but one of the most obvious reasons was to keep their hearts and minds on track with God’s plan. It would be very easy t want what the crowds wanted, to desire Jesus as a physical, earthly King right then and there. It would have been normal to want freedom from the Romans, but they would then still be slaves to sin. 

Jesus was guiding them, preparing them, and helping them to develop a kingdom mindset that was based on His Kingdom and not on thier understanding of what the Messiah was ‘supposed’ to do.  What they wanted now would have only left them with a cheap imitation of what was really on the way. 

We need to thank Jesus for these times where He saves us from our own desires and keeps our hearts and minds on track with what really matters. We have dreams and goals and desires, and that’s fine, but they need to begin and end in God’s perfect will. 

Taking the call to GoLove seriously is not an option for the Christian. It is part of our life in Christ just as much as our salvation. It belongs to all of us. But sometimes we get drugged into silence by the things of this earth, the desire for more, for entertainment and comfort, and we leave behind the will and heart of God for a cheap imitation of Kingdom life. God will continue to warn and discipline and redirect us until that day Christ returns for us, but we shouldn’t want to press that envelope. Instead, we take Jesus’ warnings and redirections and listen to them, changing our understanding accordingly and pursuing the plan Go has laid out before us, trusting in Him.