False Profession's Folly

The disciples of the Lord had been left befuddled and perplexed through what they judged to be the Lord's cryptic manner of speaking to them. He acknowledged that He had been speaking to them in parables, but that there would come a time when He would speak to them more plainly. Clearly, that day had not yet arrived. Yet, the disciples immediately jumped to the conclusion that it had, and that they had finally grasped the meaning of the Lord's statements. They were brimming with confidence in what they imagined to be their newfound understanding and they were sure of their faith in the truth that He had come forth from the Father. But His question to them disrupted everything in their thinking. He was pointing to the high cost of being associated with Him, of following Him. He warned them that when trouble would come, they would find themselves reverting to their previous confusion. But His point to them was that they needed to look away from themselves and to Him for in Him they would find good cheer and in Him they would be able to overcome the world.