Before He entered Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus forewarned his apostles of the events
that would occur. He wanted them to know He would need no defense, that things would not
really be suddenly, uncontrollably falling apart, that all hopes for God's kingdom were not
falling by the wayside, that events would happen exactly as God had ordained for them to
happen. On at least two occasions, He told them,

Mat 20:18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief
priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him
to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise
again.

Luke 9:44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered
into the hands of men. 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that
they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

I like the words Jesus used here: "Let these sayings sink down into your ears." It brings to
mind a recent happening when one of my very young granddaughters went to the doctor for a
checkup and the doctor exclaimed during the exam, "There's a little shiny pink bead way down
in her ear"! He checked the other ear and there was a bead there, also. Apparently, while
playing dress-up, she'd placed these beads in her ears to simulate earrings and they'd dropped
down into the ear canal without anyone knowing it. But that is what Jesus was saying to His
apostles, "Hear this to the point that it sinks down into your ears and you really hear what I
am telling you: 'I will be betrayed, condemned to death, mocked, scourged, and crucified, but
I will rise on the third day.'" But because fear has a way of closing the ears to things that
don't want to be heard, they didn't hear Him. Instead, they feared what He was saying, and
this fear would increase to the point where their fear of the Jews would force them into
seclusion.

Jesus said other things that also indicated what the future held for Him:

John 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for
the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my
Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but
for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice
from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. 29 The people
therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to
him. 30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. 31
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what
death he should die.

When the time of fulfillment came, one of the apostles, speculatively Peter, tried to defend
Jesus in the garden:

Mat 26:51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his
sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus
unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish
with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently
give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be
fulfilled, that thus it must be?

Jesus told the apostles He could call for 12,000 angels to deal with those who came to take
Him away, but there was something much more important to be accomplished, and it did not
depend on His being freed from the Romans. That something was that "the scriptures be
fulfilled, that thus it MUST be" (v. 54). So as scripture began to be fulfilled, He took the
use of the sword out of their hands. Earlier, Jesus had warned them,

Mat 26:31 . . . All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will
smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

What were the apostles to do now? Jesus would not allow them to use the sword, while the
Romans stood armed to the hilt. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to flee, and
flee they did. Peter, mustering up some courage, followed Jesus and the guards to the high
priest's palace and went into the courtyard and sat down by the fire:

Mat 26:58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat
with the servants, to see the end.

Peter followed, but at a distance. One wonders what state of mind Peter was in at this point.
He had to be sweating, probably almost shaking, nervous, tremendously on edge, trying to be
strong and faithful, while Self pushed him to the point of denying he knew Jesus. He watched
from afar off, and his courage soon drained dry. Questioned three times if he was one of the
ones with Jesus, he denied it three times, before running away and crying it all out in the
darkness of the night.

Where were Jesus' disciples when He died? Scripture tells us that there were some who watched
the crucifixion from a distance:

Mat 27:55 . . . many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee,
ministering unto him: 56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and
Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Mark also tells how the women who ministered to Jesus watched from afar:

Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 (Who also, when he was in Galilee,
followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto
Jerusalem.

Other verses mention this fact as well, but it was always women and some men who were not of
the eleven. Only John approached the cross with Jesus' mother, his mother's sister, Mary the
wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene (John 19:25-27).

Where were the apostles? The apostles were in hiding, "mourning and weeping" (Mark 16:10).
Jesus was dying and now "fear of the Jews" (John 20:19) was in full force. But Joseph of
Aramathia, in spite of that same fear, managed to receive the body of Jesus for burial:

John 19:38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for
fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave
him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus,
which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an
hundred pound weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with
the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified
there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 42
There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was
nigh at hand.

Again, it was the women, not the apostles, who followed to see where Jesus' body was laid:

Mark 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. Mark 16:
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome,
had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

They witnessed which tomb he had been placed in, and when they arrived there again on the
third day, an angel appeared and told them,

"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said" (Matt 28:6).

I can imagine the apostles still hiding in fear while the angel at the tomb was telling the
two women that Jesus was risen AS HE SAID. What good news, what an awesome, overwhelming
message the women would carry to the apostles. The awe they must have felt, and anticipation
of the joy on the apostles' faces must have raced through their minds and emotions:

Luke 24:6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in
Galilee, 7 Saying, THE SON OF MAN MUST BE DELIVERED INTO THE HANDS OF SINFUL MEN, AND BE
CRUCIFIED, AND THE THIRD DAY RISE AGAIN. 8 AND THEY REMEMBERED HIS WORDS, 9 And returned
from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was
Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them,
which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales,
and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre;

"And they [the women] remembered his words." How easily they believed. The angel told them,
and then the Lord appeared and told them again, and they remembered what He had said. "He IS
risen, just like He said!" They rushed back to the apostles and delivered their wonderful news
in what had to be a very emotional scene, and the apostles reacted incredulously and "believed
them not." Except for Peter . . . maybe. He may not have believed, but he couldn't quite
discount their words. He had to see for himself: "Then arose Peter, and ran unto the
sepulchre."

The amazing thing about Jesus' resurrection is that in spite of His telling them beforehand
exactly what was going to happen, the apostles and other disciples still struggled to believe
it. When Jesus appeared to two very sad followers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:17), they
told Him how some of their assembly had even gone to the sepulchre and had seen for themselves
that the body of Jesus was not there. They were most likely referring to Peter and John:

Luke 24:24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so
as the women had said: but him they saw not.

Here we have Jesus' body missing and they were sad, and though Jesus was walking with them and
talking to them, who he was was hidden from them. Most likely the question running through
their minds was "What happened to His body"? Maybe the rumor that the body was stolen had
already spread. These disciples were sad and unbelieving in spite of all the testimony that He
had indeed risen from the dead:

Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside
all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women
also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when they
found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said
that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found
it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

How could they not believe? Let's look at the facts. Jesus' body was missing. An angel had
told the women that He was risen, and that is why His body was not in the tomb. Two disciples
had checked out the tomb. And yet they "believed not" (Mark 16:10). What Jesus had told them
before Calvary did not sink down in their ears. In dealing with the two followers on the
Emmaus road, Jesus didn't waste any time on their sadness and unbelief. He called them fools,
because they were looking at circumstances and trying to figure out the things that astonished
them instead of looking to the Scriptures:

Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself.

Apparently, the two sensed something concerning Him who spoke to them, for they invited Him to
stay and eat. As He broke bread with them, they suddenly recognized Jesus, and then He
disappeared.

Luke 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

They ran to the apostles and told them:

Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven
gathered together, and them that were with them, 34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and
hath appeared to Simon. 35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was
known of them in breaking of bread.

The women had come to the apostles and told them of the angels and Jesus' appearance to them,
and they hadn't believed. After Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, she too went and reported
the news, and they didn't believe her:

Mark 16:10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

And now these two followers ran to Jerusalem and excitedly announced this same good news, and
Mark records the apostles' reaction:

Mark 16:13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.

But after they'd related this encounter, Jesus Himself appeared to the apostles and the
disciples who were with them:

Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after
he was risen.

Luke describes the scene this way:

Luke 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto
them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they
had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise
in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he
showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered,
he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and
of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them. 44 And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of
these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Even with Jesus standing there in front of them, "they yet believed not for joy, and wondered"
(v. 41). Here were the men who were to take the gospel to the world, and they had not yet laid
hold of the fact that Jesus was risen from the dead! Jesus rebuked them for rejecting all the
testimony they'd heard, and for not believing it was He now standing in their midst. They'd
seen that His body was gone from the tomb, they'd heard testimony from different sources, and
now here He was standing in their midst, and they still thought they were seeing a spirit of
some sort.

Jesus' own apostles and closest disciples should have recognized, from the scriptures and from
Jesus' teaching, the significance of His crucifixion and resurrection. But they didn't, and
the Lord had to open their understanding and teach them more about His purpose. So He taught
and encouraged and rebuked and strengthened them, and they finally overcame their fears and
doubts and wonderings. By Pentecost, they were ready and prepared for every good work, and
embued with the power of the Holy Spirit, they began to take the gospel to the Jews and to the
world.

There are many lessons in this summary, and maybe the Lord spoke to you about yourself and
your relationship with Him as you read through this. But the words that stood out to me while
writing it are these:

"Let these sayings sink down into your ears."

As prophesied in Scripture, Jesus has come and has returned to heaven, but the Scriptures also
say that He is coming again, after a period of great tribulation:

Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

We in our day are not excused from having Jesus' words of warning "sink down into our ears."
He is not done speaking, and His words to us are even more clear than those to His apostles
and first disciples. Some of His warnings are:

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be
hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray
one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall
deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the
end shall be saved. . . . 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the
servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more
shall they call them of his household?

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved.

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord.
If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they
will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake,
because they know not him that sent me.

Jesus made no apologies for believers having to go through such things. When He went up to
Jerusalem, He knew that Peter would deny Him and the apostles would flee, and that He would be
crucified and then raised up on the third day. That was just the way it was going to be, and
so He warned them. He stated that these things would in fact happen, and that His followers
only had to listen and understand and set their faces like flint. But they ended up filled
with doubts and wonderings, shaking in the corner of a dark secluded room.

There are those who doubt that things that are happening today will lead to the events
prophesied in Scripture. But the worst thing one can do is deny Jesus' warnings, or treat them
lightly. The sarcasm, flippancy, arrogance and apostasy in the body of Christ today shows that
many have not let His sayings "sink down into their ears." The more the shofar is blown and
the shout is heard for "revival," and the more Christians soak their billions of dollars into
the effort, the more the world slides down the tubes. People are crying for answers while the
apostate Church binds itself to Rome and struggles to conquer the world.

The world cannot deal with sin and the more it tries to deal with it, the more sin it
manifests. It will do so until the antichrist comes on the scene and the mystery of iniquity
has its desire. Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, disease,
nervousness, panic, tranquilizers, rumors, prescription drugs at their highest selling point
in history, unite this, tolerate that. The more peace is pursued, the more trouble there is.
The more "peace, peace" becomes the cry, the more war increases. The only thing the world can
be one in is the rejection of Jesus Christ as the only solution to humanity's problems. But
instead of preaching Christ, the apostate Church offers itself as the catalyst to a false
world unity and a non-scriptual peace that won't come until Jesus comes back according to the
Scriptures. Let this sink down into our ears.

The apostles and first disciples were told over and over again what was to happen and it
proved to be a traumatic experience for them, such as with Peter. They even had Jesus in the
flesh, in their midst, teaching and telling and warning and preparing them, and yet there were
fears and doubts and wonderings and loss of direction when things began to happen.

As with the disciples, we need to be very serious about the times we live in and the words of
Jesus concerning these times. We cannot dilly-dally with understanding the truth, lest we
surrender the truth of Scripture and find we are not able to endure to the end. The truth is
to be stood on no matter what comes, and to stand on it means that one has to have it first -
in its proper context. Many have some truth, but it is perverted. That is why we need to get
the truth about the truth down in our ears, where we know it and stand on it and hear it, so
that when the persecution and hatred and betrayals begin, we "remember his words" (Luke 24:8).
Remembering the Lord's words means remembering them in their proper context. We each need to
check ourselves out. We each need to forsake being "right," standing on private revelations
that makes us cocky and sure and at the same time deceived. All seven of the churches of
Revelation received the same warning, "He that hath an ear, LET HIM HEAR [sink these words
down into your ears] what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Rev 2:11).

The disciples overcame because the Lord was merciful and took 40 days to get them on track. We
too are called to overcome. We do not have the Lord here in the flesh to teach us, but He has
given us the Holy Spirit to teach us those things which are to come and to point to Jesus in
the full canon of Scripture. We have been given all the spiritual Q-tips we need to get these
things down into our ears.

Do you have something you believe but aren't sure about? Have you taken the time to really
study it and check it out in its proper context? Are you absolutely ready to endure through
the times ahead? Now is the time to be sure. Check your ears and see what is there. What have
you heard that is lodged in there that will aid you in your endurance? Anything? Something? Is
it just spiritual earwax that actually clogs your hearing? God has given us His Spirit, His
word, a regenerated spirit and a brain to read and understand Scripture. These things give us
ears to hear. Do we? I hope so, because with all that is swirling around today we need to heed
the signs of the times and those things which will hinder us from persevering and enduring to
the end. Every one of us will be answerable to Christ alone one day, and He will be looking to
see and hear that which we have remembered according to His word.

==============

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