Afraid to Ask

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

AFRAID TO ASK

Luke 9:43-45

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men."  45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

NIV

Although we do not walk in the same shoes the disciples did there is a truth, we can gain from them. They did not have the advantage of the complete New Testament which explains fully the words Jesus spoke to them. We know all about Judas, how the High Priest, and the complete Sanhedrin, which included many Pharisees who wanted Jesus dead. They wanted to get rid of him because he was causing them to lose control over the people. We know that Judas sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. However, what we can learn from these disciples is regarding their being afraid to ask Jesus what he meant because they did not understand. When we hear the word of God and various sermons from either the local pastor of the church we belong to, or from some who use multi-media platforms, or read some commentary or other books, we come across a plethora of interpretations. However, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and we would think He dwells in all those who hear expound on the word of God, He leads us into all truth. The Spirit also gives us the gift of discernment to detect any false preachers, and teachers, in whatever format they present their interpretation of the word of God. The point is that if or when we are not sure about what something of the word of God means, we should never be afraid to ask the Spirit to lead us to the truth of the meaning. We should not simply be sheep led to some pasture and accept the food from the hands of a human, because we have the Great Shepherd and He has given us the Spirit who guides us, in, and through the food from God unfolding the truth to us. Although the truth was hidden from them, it is not hidden from us due to the Spirit. Jesus told us to ask, and we would receive, and this includes asking about the truth of the word of God. We will not be afraid to ask.