You have to understand the urgency in the heart of Jesus to convince the disciples of who He was. In Mark 6:30, He takes them to a quiet place to get some rest. The crowd arrives ahead of them and within hours over 5000 people have come together to hear the Master. When supper time comes, Jesus tells the disciples this: ” You give them something to eat!”  An audacious suggestion, don’t you think? But the disciples needed to be convinced of who Jesus really was. Identity is everything! What happened after that? Fish grew in their very hands and also bread - one piece going out, another piece growing back, fish and bread alike!

Next, the disciples were in a boat in the middle of the Lake of Galilee and would have drowned if the Lord had not come to rescue them from the storm. You remember that He came walking to them on the water! This surely was very convincing of His identity, right? Not really. Mark 6:52 says that their hearts were hardened because they could not understand the multiplication of the bread and fishes. The disciples were mystified by the walking on the water and all of Jesus’ actions.

Next, Jesus takes them to Bethsaida and for the first time He had to pray twice for a blind man. Unbelief was so strong it was as if His plan to convince the disciples was failing. Next they went on to Mt. Hermon. So far everything had failed. The Transfiguration was the greatest attempt to convince the disciples of who He was. It took courage to do what Jesus did there. It was almost a “mini-ascension.” Not too long before that, at Caesarea Philippi, Peter had said of the Lord,  “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”

It took persistence and it took a lifetime to convince the disciples of who He was. This is the work of ministry: to convince others of the nature of Jesus Christ and the salvation available through Him.  However, to receive the fullness of that salvation, one must be convinced of who He really is!

Now a word to the unbelieving. Today Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. His Holy Spirit is the convincing power in this earth! Do not reject the Holy Spirit! It means nothing if people fall in love with you and have nothing to do with the Savior!

Praise His Name!

Rick Bonfim