The Proclaimer

The Hidden Truth

More than once Jesus prophesied concerning His death, burial and resurrection, the last time being just prior to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus told His apostles, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets shall be accomplished unto the Son of man.  For he shall be delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully treated, and spit upon: and they shall scourge and kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.  And they understood none of these things; and this saying was hid from them, and they perceived not the things that were said” (Luke 18:31-34).

How could they not have understood?  How was this saying hidden from them?  Jesus clearly tells them what was to happen, yet they understood “none of these things.”  There are at least two reasons for the apostle’s lack of perception.  To begin with, it was a prophecy of the Lord the apostles didn’t understand.  What seems so plain to us in retrospect was much more difficult to perceive before the event.  We must recognize that the object of prophecy was not to reveal to the present age future events, but to afford a testimony to the truth of divine revelation after its fulfillment.  “And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe” (John 14:29).  Their understanding of prophecy before the event was not nearly so crucial as their perception of the prophecy’s evidentiary benefit subsequent to the event.  Eventually the prophecy would help them see and believe.

Secondly, the truth was “hidden” from them by the same prejudices that prevented most Jews from receiving Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic promise kept the apostles at this time from perceiving what Jesus prophesied concerning His death, burial and resurrection.  They were looking for a physical kingdom.  They expected Jesus to reign as king on David’s throne in the temple.  Consequently all that Jesus said about His death did not fit into their prejudiced scenario.  Their carnal mindedness blinded them.

Today the doctrine of premillennialism has permeated the denominational world.  The notion that Jesus will return to the earth to establish the earthly kingdom He failed to establish before His death; that idea that He will reign on the literal throne of David in Jerusalem for a thousand years has been embraced by most denominations without investigation.  The fact is, the premillennialist misses the same boat the Jews missed.  Christ’s kingdom is not physical, but spiritual.  It is, as Jesus expressed it, “not of this world” (John 18:36).

There are many who refuse to accept the plain teaching of the Lord on many subjects.  For instance, Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16), yet most people do not perceive this truth.  Their prejudice hides the truth from them.  Paul says, “Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged” (2 Cor. 2:14).  The “natural man” in this passage is the carnally minded man void of spiritual perception.  Even those who consider themselves spiritually perceptive can be so affected by carnality, for there is “the deceit of unrighteousness” which affects individuals “because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10).  “None is so blind as he who will not see.”             

                                                                                         -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer