Rembrandt, 1637
Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
These predictions are about as clear as they could possibly be, so Luke’s comment that the apostles didn’t understand them at all seems rather strange.
But perhaps it’s understandable when we realize that the apostles were totally caught up in the mesmerizing, charismatic leadership of Jesus.
They probably found the idea of his absence unthinkable, the possibility of his “defeat” at the hands of his enemies inconceivable.
The Messiah was here.
The Messianic age was about to dawn.
Moreover, while devout Jews anticipated a physical resurrection, they expected it to occur at the end of time, in connection with the Last Judgment, not as an individual case long before the End.
It just didn’t “compute.”
Sometimes, when we have really strong expectations and settled ideas, we can’t at first hear other ideas that directly contract our preconceptions. Even if we hear them.
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