We Need More Wisdom and Revelation!

This morning I had an interesting thought as I was reading the following verses - Luke 18:31-34 NIV:

[31] "Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. [32] He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; [33] they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

[34] "The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about."

First, upon reading verse thirty four, my initial reaction was to wonder how stupid were the apostles to not understand the statement Jesus just made?  Then immediately I thought about the fact that revelation is required, and we are reading those verses with a historical knowledge of the revelation that followed.  They however, were walking through the day to day ministry of Jesus, and were generally convinced that He was the Messiah, but they didn't understand that the Father had sent Him to suffer and die and purchase salvation and forgiveness for us all, gentile and Jew alike.  They thought the Messiah was going to be a  Warrior King in the style of David, and restore their nation and throw out the Romans.  Thus, any comments that Jesus made about being beaten and killed just had no relevance to their paradigm of understanding.

As I was thinking that, I was reminded of Paul's prayer in his letter to the Ephesians 1:17-21 NIV:

[17] "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."

Paul had it right in praying for a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we might know Him (Jesus) better.  We think because we see Him from this historical point, and because we know the stories of scripture and the revelation contained therein that we know Jesus.  We can become settled in our knowledge of Him, thinking that we understand Him and that we understand the precepts of our faith.  However, in reality we barely know the Lord, for we could study Him for eternity and never know Him  fully, for He is a member of the Most Holy Trinity, whose Kingdom never ends  (Luke 1:33) and whose Kingdom is ever increasing (Is 9:7).  He has all power and authority (Col 2:10) and through Him the world was created (John 1:1-3). Thus, it is wrong for us to ever think that we understand everything about the Lord or His purpose or character.  Our paradigms of understanding are completely limited, even as the Apostles were limited, and as such, we should pray exactly like Paul, asking for a spirit of wisdom and revelation!!  We need to have humble hearts!

We also need to have grace and mercy towards those that are growing in the Lord, who have yet to discover some of the revelation that we walk in, to the Glory of God.  He is so wise and gentle in His leading and guiding us, and He never rejects us for lack of understanding.  He understands our limited human minds, our inability to grasp the infinite, our relative blindness to the spiritual realm, so He is patient and loving in His instruction!  He has sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us, to instruct us and make known to us revelation (John 14:26 & John 16:12-15)!

So today, let us be encouraged that the Lord is leading us and guiding us to wisdom and revelation.  Let us recognize that we are all still learning and still understanding.  Let us extend mercy and grace to those who are beginning their relationship with the Lord, and growing in their faith. Let us ask for more wisdom and revelation, that we might know Him better, and come to understand more of His "incomparably great power"!