“For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him”(Mark 9:31,32).
TEXT — Mark 9:30-37
Many of Christ’s teachings were given in response to questions His disciples and others asked. It is proper and expected that people should ask for clarification when they do not fully understand an instruction or information they receive. However, in today’s passage, the disciples of Christ were afraid to ask Jesus about a crucial matter they did not understand.
Jesus has been talking about His death and resurrection. However, the disciples could not connect with the idea of the Messiah dying. They assumed Christ’s Messiahship was to deliver their nation from Roman domination and that they, the disciples, would occupy leading positions in the kingdom He would set up. So, when Jesus spoke about His betrayal, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, they did not understand and were afraid to ask Him. The question is, why were they afraid to ask? Could it be that they feared Jesus would rebuke them for their ignorance or that they would get an answer they would not like? Instead of asking Christ to explain more profound things about the Kingdom, they debated who would be the greatest in the coming Kingdom.
The disciples were just like most people today in their lust for pre-eminence. Despite their shallow understanding of kingdom principles and the imminence of Christ’s passion, the disciples were busy arguing about rank and position among themselves. The desire to be great and control others is a common human trait. Jesus sees our hearts and knows our secret ambition and lust for position. To cure this monster of unbridled lust for power, Jesus draws our attention to a little child to illustrate humility, meekness and self-effacement. Children just serve and run errands with no ambitions to acquire power or prominence. We need to seek the right knowledge and understanding to practise what is most important in the Kingdom.
Thought for the day
Prioritise and pursue the most important kingdom principle.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
2 comments
Thanks for this wonderful devotional,am really blessed….
Pls can I be having it regularly in my email?thanks in anticipation 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for this wonderful devotional,am really blessed….
Pls can I be having it regularly in my email?thanks in anticipation 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Am enjoy all the messages from daily manner in English but I need manner Yoruba for more understanding sirs