Afraid to Ask

Observe. Jesus is teaching the disciples privately, and the subject is his coming death and resurrection. Mark says they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Interpret. This is the second passion prediction in Mark. After the first, Peter rebuked Jesus and was rebuked in return. Perhaps that memory is why nobody speaks now. Fear of looking foolish, fear of another correction, fear of what the answer might be. Whatever the cause, silence left them without understanding, and the next thing they did was argue about greatness. A question unasked does not stay neutral. It gets replaced by something else.

Apply. Many Christians carry unasked questions for years. What does this passage mean? Why did God allow that? What am I supposed to do with this doubt? Fear keeps them quiet, and the space fills with lesser concerns. Jesus, in this passage, is not impatient with questions. He is grieved by their absence.

What have you been afraid to ask God, or to ask someone who could help? And what has grown in the space that question left empty?