Remembering His words

“He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered His words.” Luke 24:6-8
We can read through the Bible with a sense of wonderment at how all of the disciples failed to remember that Jesus said He would rise from the dead. However, we have the benefit of hindsight. They were right there in the thick of things, and despite being with Jesus day and night for three and a half years, their own faith was small. Jesus started telling them about how He would be crucified, after Peter made his confession of faith in Jesus as Messiah (Matt. 16:16, Mark 8:30, Luke 9:20). But every time He mentions His death, He also tells them that after three days He would be raised back to life (Matt. 16:21, Matt. 17:22-23, Matt. 20:19, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33-34, Luke 9:22, Luke 18:31-33). Whether they didn’t understand that He was talking about a literal, bodily resurrection, or whether they were too overcome with grief at Him talking about His death that they failed to hear it, in any case they didn’t figure it out until they arrived at the tomb and found it empty (Luke 24:8, John 2:22). Even the Pharisees remembered what He had said (Matt. 27:62-64).
Sometimes we too can forget the foundational promises of God, when we are in times of pain or grief. But Jesus still loved His disciples, and He still loves us, despite our weakness and our failings.