November 14, 2008
Kibitzing on the Side
Lately I’ve been attending a lot of meetings where, rather than being able to listen to what is taking place, I’m either hearing others carrying on their own conversations, or else someone is trying to engage me in a sidebar. It’s frustrating to hear the answer to a question when you haven’t even heard the question. As Jesus taught His disciples I think these guys were doing a lot of kibitzing on the side also. “Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” (John 16:17-18 NIV) Does anyone else find it strange that they’re looking to each other for the answers, rather than Jesus?
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Gail;
-----I used to wonder why Jesus’ disciples had so much trouble understanding what He was telling them. But then I began to ponder all the eschatology in today’s churches. It is very similar to their difficulties. We look back at the disciples having ourselves seen the culmination of the events Jesus was referring to, and we unfairly think it to have been so clear that they should have known. But they did not have our advantage, for the events Jesus referred to had not yet transpired. Sometimes they did ask Jesus for clarification, but from Him they received a gentle, loving rebuff and some more explanation, usually just as cryptic. They could have gone to the scriptures, but a copy of those had to cost at least a year’s wages at a scribes rate, which I am sure was not cheap. For a few bucks we can pop open any number of translations and read as much as the time we have available allows. They could only view the scriptures in the synagogues, or maybe some regional library, and I presume the keepers of those were pretty tight about whose hands could open them. About all they had left was to discuss among themselves what each had come to know. Considering the availability of scripture to us, we have less excuse regarding eschatology than did they regarding Jesus’ ongoing redemptive project. God bless them. God help us.
Love,
Steve Corey
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