Until 2 or 3 years ago, whenever I read about Jesus's disciples in the Bible, I failed to understand what were their real motives in following Jesus.
In fact, I didn't even bother to question what the disciples' motive was.
For me, reading the Bible was a daily-ritual, because I thought, by reading the bible and praying everyday, I would:
Secure a physical protection (for myself and my loved ones) from God
Achieve my dreams with the blessings of God and
Live a happy and a comfortable life
Though I agree none of them is a bad desire, I'd still have to admit that I was pitiable for having such a narrow vision in seeking God. I didn't really know what God's heart really was!
I would have understood Christ a lot better much earlier, if I had asked the question in the topic of this post!
So I'm sharing what I understood in short in this post, to help the readers ensure they aren't late like me.
Now let's dive into the topic - What did Jesus' disciples misunderstand about His mission?
To answer the question, we must first understand the political condition that was prevailing in Israel in the days of Jesus.
The Israelites were under the Roman captivity for hundreds of years even before Jesus was born. The Romans charged the Israelites with hefty taxes. Further, they disrespected the Israelites, and subjected them to harsh treatment.
It is just like, some country conquers your country, and takes your money in the form of tax, and mistreat you, all just because they have a powerful military.
Though the Romans did not interfere much in the religious matters of the Israelites, the Israelites hated them to the core due to their atrocities.
At this point of time, Jesus, a born Israelite, started His ministry, and did great miracles like bringing the physically dead back to life, healing the sick etc. On seeing these miracles, a section of the Israelites started looking at Him as the Messiah they were waiting for.
Yes, the wild guess of the people that Jesus is the prophesized Messiah is correct. However, they failed to interpret the prophesies accurately, as they expected the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government, and establish His own government.
They failed to understand that the Messiah did not come to set things right politically or to free Israel from the Roman captivity, but as a sacrifice for the sins of the entire humanity (which included the Romans too).
Until Jesus was caught and taken to the cross, most (if not all) of the 12 disciples were also expecting Him to overthrow the Roman government. Further, each of them could also have expected to get powerful positions in His rule, after overthrowing the Romans.
Little did the disciples know the Messiah came to conquer not by force, but by love!
It was only when Jesus met them (after rising up from the dead) and stayed with them for 40 days, the disciples got it right about His mission.
In today's life, a lot of believers also seek Jesus for personal gains, just like His disciples did (before His death on the cross).
However, God's primary intention is to save our souls, and to give us eternal life (A BLESSED AND HAPPY LIFE WITH GOD IN HEAVEN FOREVER!).
The material blessings that we humans are obsessed about, can only stay with a person till their death at the max, and are not a match to the eternal life God has promised us.
To conclude, here is Jesus's words from Mark 8, verses 34 to 38:
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”