Part of This Communication Problem Arises Because God Does Things Differently

So, it is quite clear that God does things definitely different than we are used to. And the matters are not always handled to ease up things. Sometimes God uses suffering to test us and make sure that we are really ready for the ultimate task.

This communication problem continued after Jesus came to this earth. The disciples were attracted to Jesus because they saw how he did his miracles. For example, Luke 4:16-30, which could be Jesus' first miracle. Peter and company saw how cleverly Jesus disappeared from the scene without getting trapped. They were impressed. Now, here is a man who can be quite useful. No one can catch him. And he well definitely will be king one day. Of course, if Jesus become king, they can be ministers and hold high power in the government if they are close to him. This is what attracted them to him.

We can see this miscalculation on the part of the disciples to the time of Jesus' crucifixion. Judas never thought that Jesus will allow himself to be caught. He had seen Jesus doing his disappearing act before. He had even seeing Jesus walking on water! So, he figured, he can collect some money from the High Priests for showing where Jesus was. Jesus sure will escape and he can pocket the money! Neat trick, isn't it? There was only one problem. God had other ideas. Jesus did not attempt to escape. Judas went and committed suicide when he realized that Jesus was not planning to escape.

Or look at Peter. When Jesus was being tried, the onlookers suggested that he was with Jesus. Now Peter vigorously denied ever being with Jesus. Peter did this also because he was convinced that Jesus will escape in the end like a magician. Now Jesus can do this. But Peter knows he does not have any such powers. In fact, Peter tried to do what Jesus did once by trying to walk on water. He nearly drowned! So, Peter rationalized matters this way. Jesus isn't going to be caught under any circumstances. If Peter stands there at that and say that he is with Jesus, these guys will beat him up and put him in jail. He will be stuck there. Jesus will escape and Peter will be spending the rest of the life in jail and someone else will be the chief minister. On the other hand, if Peter says that he does not know Jesus, it is not going to affect Jesus one way or other his powers of escaping from the situation. Peter can get out of the jam and stay out of jail. Later, when Jesus escapes, he surely will understand why he had said what he said at that time. Again, God had other plans.