Matthew 17:22-23

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22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ``The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23 and they will kill Him and He will be raised on the third day.'' And they were deeply grieved.

Immediately after discussing how little faith the disciples had, Jesus shares with them the upcoming plan-to be killed and be raised from the dead 3 days later!

What's happening here? Their response to Jesus' announcement was to be deeply grieved. Why? 1. One option is that they were so strongly attached to Him, so they were sorry that He was going to leave them.

2. Another option might be that they were unwilling to believe what Jesus was saying.

3. They simply didn't understand what was going on! They could not see how He could be the Messiah and yet be put to death. They simply didn't get the "resurrection" possibility. Their faith was being manipulated by their emotions and not their trust in the person of Jesus.

4. I think there is a fourth reason for their grief. The disciples just didn't like Jesus' plan. They were geared up for winning in the political movement of Jesus, the ground-swell excitement that was growing around Him. Then, Jesus tells them His plan. He was going to die. Die? Are you serious? They just didn't get it that the real message of Jesus' movement was the message of sacrificial love, not a movement of political power.

The disciples had their own agendas regarding what they wanted to do with Jesus, the role they wanted Him to play for them. This is just another way of "living life your way in the name of Jesus." They never got it, until after the resurrection occurred! It's just like us today. We miss the simple point of Jesus' role in our affairs, until after He comes through on our behalf in the midst of death and dying, then and only then do we begin to get it.