Lent day 28

I’ve really been amazed while reading through Matthew this time, just how many times it seems that the disciples have completely missed what Jesus has been trying to teach them.

In Matthew 20, Jesus teaches about how the first will be last and the last will be first. Then a few verses later it says that two of the disciples had their mom come to Jesus to ask that they be on His right and left when He comes into His Kingdom.

I think they missed the mark on several things here.

They’ve made the very human mistake of thinking that Jesus was there to throw the Romans out and to set up an earthly kingdom. In this kingdom, Jesus would obviously need a first and a second by His side. Why not these two men that have been following Him from the beginning?

But this is not the kingdom that Jesus has come to set up. Would the mother have asked the same question if she knew it would mean that her sons would have to die in order to “drink of the same cup” as Jesus? I don’t think so.

I think she was just thinking of her sons place in this world and how they could advance in the new earthly kingdom of Israel.

They’ve also made the mistake of thinking that the true way to get ahead is to become the most powerful person they can while they still have the chance.

We make this same mistake all the time. We try to acquire fame and fortune thinking it will get us all that we need.

But this isn’t the way that Jesus taught us to gain power or glory.

He taught us to gain power and glory by acknowledging that we are indeed truly powerless and by pointing all glory to the only truly powerful one, Himself.

l don’t know why I would expect any different from the disciples. But I’m truly surprised by how many times they seem to miss Jesus’ teachings.

They had Him there to teach them first hand, and yet they clearly didn’t understand everything He was telling them.

At the end of Matthew  20 there is another story that shows how little they understood what Jesus was there to do. As they are leaving Jericho two blind men call out for Jesus to have mercy on them. The disciples, who have watched Jesus heal numerous people, try to hush them up and push them to the side.

But Jesus calls to them and heals them when they ask for it.

If only His disciples, and all of us today also, would have the knowledge that we too are truly blind and need to be healed so that we can see the world the way Jesus does. Then we could ask and have our eyes opened too.