They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Here we see Jesus specifically carve out dedicated time for his disciples. He was teaching them. There is an important statement here that they needed to digest: The Messiah — the one the Jewish leaders, many of the Jews, and some of the disciples were hoping would be a military leader who would free them from Roman oppression — was going to die. He was not going to conquer his earthly foes.

This had significant implications for the disciples. They had left everything, risking much to follow Jesus. How would it look to their family, friends, and Jewish community if their powerful Rabbi who cast out demons and healed so many was captured and killed? What would this mean for them and all they believed about Jesus being the Messiah?

At times like these, when we don’t want to deal with the hard questions out of fear, we sacrifice spiritual clarity for personal comfort. Who knows, maybe if the disciples had asked Jesus to explain this more and really tried to understand this truth they would have acted in faith instead of fear when he was captured?

We see Jesus here not only preparing them for his death, but also giving them hope in his resurrection. This was done for a present and a future purpose. Presently, he wanted to help them understand what would happen to deal with their fear. And this statement of truth, a prophecy, also served as a faith marker that they could look back on and believe when their hearts were ready, after his resurrection.

Isn’t that how it is with our teenage kids? We share the truth, but it is ignored or pushed aside for various reasons. Also with those we are trying to help, sometimes they don’t want to deal with the fear involved in a tough conversation. But as a loving father or friend, we are called to speak the truth in love and prepare hearts now and for the future to understand God’s heart and his ways that are good.

Lord, thank you for trying to share with the disciples about this future hardship you and they would undergo. I feel like you have done this with me in my life at times too, either through the counsel of your people, your word, or in prayer. Forgive me for the times I resisted dealing with hard topics out of fear. Teach me to trust you with outcomes, and in obedience, move past fear to understand your heart.