Day 43: Can you see what Jesus is saying? (Luke 18:31–43)
Today’s Passage: Luke 18:31-43
One of the Superman movies has some fun with the Lois Lane character, inviting the question, “Can she really not tell Clark Kent is Superman?”
Seeing what is right in front of us is challenging. I often am standing in front of the refrigerator asking my wife where the milk is—when it is right in front me.
For the third time, Jesus has told his disciples that he is going to suffer and die. In this episode he has been explicit. The text says they understood none of it. My view is that God hid this from them. I can only imagine what they might have tried if they knew Jesus would be taken from them.
It is curious who can see Jesus, and who cannot. A blind man on the road to Jericho sees him clearly? Yes, the text says he had to ask who was coming. However, when the crowd said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” he saw, “Jesus, Son of David.”
Today that challenge remains. When you “see” Jesus, who do you “see”? A historical figure, who started out from humble beginnings and was a great teacher? Or the God Incarnate, announced by angels, born of a virgin, and with power over all the world?