Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. 9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. 11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 “But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

– Mark 9:8-13 (NKJV)

One morning I spent what felt like an hour looking for my reading glasses. When I gave up the search I reached up and patted my hair to find my readding glasses were on my head. They were so close to me, but I couldn’t see them at the time. I looked for them everywhere but where they actually were.

In this passage today we find the disciples asking Jesus about Elijah and why the scribes were saying that Elijah must come before the messiah. Maybe Elijah was fresh on their mind because they just saw him and were wondering if there was a correlation.

Elijah is a subject where it seems like the scholars got it right and wrong at the same time. They got the scriptures right, but failed to recognize the one who came in the spirit of Elijah. So they were holding on to the truth of the prophecy that said Elijah must come first, but then they missed him when he came! (We assume Jesus was talking about John the Baptist). How terrible that must have been! To have studied and read and know the details of prophecy and then to see it all unfold before your eyes and miss it because you were looking for something else!

Then Jesus points out something else they missed. The scriptures said that the son of man would come and must suffer many things and be treated with contempt. Of course we recognize that he said this about himself. This is what he has been trying to tell the disciples. The scripture must be fulfilled. The path ahead of him involves the cross, but not to worry, he will rise again from the dead in three days. The disciples were about to miss it too if they weren’t careful.

Some things are so close to us we will miss them if we are not careful. Jesus doesn’t need to be one of them. We should be looking to see where He is working and join Him in whatever He calls us to. We should study the scriptures not just to know things about God, but to know God so much that we at least have a hint about what he is up too. Those poor disciples were contemplating what it meant that Jesus would rise from the dead when in a few days they would find out.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. We know that you are at work all around us and at any given moment. Give us grace to see you working and courage to join you in whatever you have called us too. Give us discernment as we apply your word to our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.