Jesus told his friends and followers again and again that his ministry would lead to death (and resurrection!) but they wouldn’t believe it. It didn’t make any sense to them until it was all over. Peter even tried to convince Jesus that he was wrong! Of course, after it was all said and done, Peter told the story of what happened to Jesus with such confidence and power that it seemed as if he had understood it all along.
In Acts 2:14-36, Peter quotes Scripture and explains eloquently what he seems to think should be perfectly clear. “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses!” he proclaims.
The point is that God’s plan isn’t always easy to see or understand when we’re caught up in the middle of it. It’s usually a lot easier to answer the question, “What was God up to?” than it is to figure out what God is up to right now.
This message was adapted from “Act Boldly for Mission” by Kelly Fryer that appeared in the June 2007 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.