Mark 9:32 — But they (the Disciples) did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him (Jesus).
Observation:
What is happening here is that Jesus has just foretold His death and His resurrection. He basically tells them that He is going to be killed, and after His death He will rise three days later. Now as I was reading over today's Scripture I knew that I would journal about this verse before I even had finished reading all of the Scripture. In and of itself verse 32 just really gives so little information. The Disciples didn't understand something Jesus said, and for some reason they were afraid to ask Him to explain Himself. Now why they were afraid is not specifically stated, but we can only imagine that if has to do with the difficulty that they had earlier with casting out the unclean spirit from the boy (verses 14 – 29). Don't you just know that they were so embarrassed by the whole thing? Not to mention that over and over Jesus has been asking then when will they ever understand. Whatever the reason, they were afraid to ask for clarification on what could possibly be the most important thing Jesus had ever said to them up to that point. Here it is all laid out for them and they let their fear place them in a position so that they missed it. Unfortunately, I think I can relate all to well with the Disciples on this one.
Application:
Sometimes when I come across Scripture that is hard to accept or when I sense that God is leading me to do something difficult, instead of going to God and seeking understanding and clarification, I allow fear to freeze me up. I hate it when it happens, I feel so defeated and so cowardly. You see, here is the rub: I know that I can trust God? He has proven that to me over and over again, yet I still fear Him at times. I think it has to do with the fact that so many times I want what I want and not what God wants. Its not like that all the time. Sometimes I follow hard after God. There have been many times when I have made very risky decisions because I believed I was following God. Still there are times when I, like the disciples, don't understand what God is saying and I am afraid to seek better understanding.
Prayer:
God please help me when I fear you. I know that your plans for me are to prosper me and not to cause me harm, yet I so often hesitate to follow you fully. Forgive those times and help me to be bold, for you are God and therefore worthy of being followed without question. Thank you for your patience with me. Please continue to teach me how to follow hard after you. Amen.
— Darren Miley, student pastor
