Were the apostles slow of heart?

[mizpeh]

Luke 18: 31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” 34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.


Jesus' words seem plain enough to me. What was the problem with these apostles? Why couldn't they grasp what was said? Why were they slow of heart to believe? Luke 24:24-26

[Bowas]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

Luke 18: 31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” 34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.


Jesus' words seem plain enough to me. What was the problem with these apostles? Why couldn't they grasp what was said? Why were they slow of heart to believe? Luke 24:24-26

I do not believe they were "slow" in any way. No slower than many today anyway.
Here is what the problem was/is.
Tradition crept into their belief and what they was looking for was a Messiah and a kingdom that that looked nothing like what Jesus was talking about throughout His ministry so they were confused and expected certain things to happen when Messiah came, as they thought Messiah would set them up to rule the earth, but they failed to comprehend the Kingdom comes not with observation but is in fact the Holy Ghost.

Jesus realized this and just before He ascended he gave them a divine understanding so they, from that point forward understood how the Old Testament prophecies was fulfilled in Him.

44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.


Many today miss it, as they did back then, for the exact same reason.

[Pressing-On]

Slow of heart, meaning slow to understand.

I was reading the book of John and nearing the end of the book was puzzled by these verses:

John 20:8-9 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. (9) For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

I was wondering why they didn't get it when Jesus talked about his resurrection.

After checking around, I had forgotten about reading John 2:22 "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

I came to the conclusion that they were no different than we are when studying the Word. At some point a light bulb goes off and you get it.

[shazeep]

it's funny how someone can tell you something true, and if you have no experience of it, you just cannot hear it as a concept--it is confusing noises, essentially, until the lightbulb goes off. i am horrible about this! we listen from a selfish pov; i suspect that we are trained to do this...

[mizpeh]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Slow of heart, meaning slow to understand.

I was reading the book of John and nearing the end of the book was puzzled by these verses:

John 20:8-9 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. (9) For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

I was wondering why they didn't get it when Jesus talked about his resurrection.

After checking around, I had forgotten about reading John 2:22 "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

I came to the conclusion that they were no different than we are when studying the Word. At some point a light bulb goes off and you get it.

[Lafon]

Originally Posted by mizpeh

Luke 18: 31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33 After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.” 34 But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.


Jesus' words seem plain enough to me. What was the problem with these apostles? Why couldn't they grasp what was said? Why were they slow of heart to believe? Luke 24:24-26

At that moment they were just as you and I once were .... they didn't have the indwelling Spirit, without which it is impossible for the "natural man" to understand the truth. In fact, it even states this as such in vs 34

[KeptByTheWord]

This question makes me think - what are we missing today? Are there things that are difficult to understand now, but perhaps someday when looking retrospectively, will we look back and wonder how we missed it?

That is what crossed my mind when I read this post.

[shazeep]

ya, we can't help but hear what we want to hear, huh?

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by shazeep

ya, we can't help but hear what we want to hear, huh?

I believe we still have so much to learn.

[shazeep]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

I believe we still have so much to learn.

amen--i have come to see that complacency and contentment are danger signs in a believer's walk, no matter what stage they are in.