They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
We know from the record in Matthew that Jesus had told them at least 5 times that He must be handed over to the Gentiles, killed, buried, and resurrected on the third day. (Matt 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19, 28, 26:2). So why didn’t the disciples understand? There are at least 3 reasons: sorrow at His leaving had so filled their hearts that they were not thinking rationally; the concept of an earthly rule by the conquering Messiah was so ingrained in their thinking that they could not get past it; and, in general, it is always easier to see things from retrospect. Godet remarks, “Where for us all is clear, for them all was mysterious. If Jesus wishes to found the Messianic kingdom, why go away? If He does not wish it, why return?” When it comes right down to it, they could not understand because what He was saying did not fit into their way of thinking.
Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 17:22-23 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.
Matthew 20:18-19 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 26:2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
What about us? Do we ever fail to understand what Jesus is saying to us because it doesn’t fit into our way of thinking? When that happens, do we ever try to fit it into our own paradigms? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” Man hasn’t changed in 2,000 years and neither have the disciples of Jesus. Their example is in our Bibles because we are just like them and God wants us to learn from their mistakes. Over and over again we are shown the danger of having inflexible theology. Learning is a process that never ends, especially when it concerns an infinite God, and we should never entertain the idea that we know what God is going to do, when He is going to do it, or how He is going to do it, unless He tells us so.
On another note, Jesus knew they would not be able to grasp those concepts each time that He told them. In fact, He often taught them things that they could not understand at the time, but He did this so that they would have to stretch beyond themselves and their abilities to grasp what he was saying and by that very act of stretching, they would grow. As Maclaren states, “If there are no difficulties there is no effort, and if there is no effort there is no growth.” Bodybuilders and those who exercise have a saying which also emphasizes this principle, “No pain; no gain.”
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.