The Long Suffering of Christ

Much of Christ's pain and grief was caused by the failure of His own disciples to trust where they ought to have trusted. It wasn't just the crowd that on the whole exhibited a perverse refusal to believe that Jesus was the Christ in spite of His many miracles - it was His very own disciples. Unwilling to listen to the beloved Son, unable to accept that Messiah must suffer, dreaming about earthly greatness for themselves, jealous of others encroaching on their ministry and being quick in their desire to call down the judgement of God on those who would not welcome them - in all this the dull and clueless hearts of the disciples was a heavy burden for Jesus to bear. We ourselves can often be as clueless as the disciples were regarding the way of Christ and His Kingdom. Nevertheless His love for the disciples and for all of us becomes deeply evident as He sets His face towards Jerusalem.