Luk 18:31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
Luk 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
Luk 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Luk 18:34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
Did the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ send His Apostles as ‘lost men’ unto the “lost sheep of Israel?” What were the Apostles in ‘unbelief’ about concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? It is commonly taught that the apostles were unsaved, and they believed not that he was the Christ the Savior of the world. It is often taught that the 12 apostles were in disbelief about the Lord being their Savior, and they were evidently still in Adam, and had they had died, they would have faced the wrath of God and then in torment. But this is not the case at all. The Apostles’s unbelief concerned their Savior’s “saying,” not because of “Who” He was as the Just One in whom “the scriptures did say would come.”
Mar 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
Mar 9:32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Furthermore, notice it was the “saying” that was “hid from them?” It was “that saying” that they were ignorant unto. Does this mean that the Apostles were not saved from the debt and penalty of sin against them, and could have died and went to torment with all those who died in Adam? The Apostles were justified unto eternal life, and were no longer in Adam, but were “in Him” as the Lord said they were in John 17: “Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” And in John 17, the Lord’s prayer unto the Father was for their ‘SANCTIFICATION,’ not for their justification, and anyone who understands the will of God knows that a person cannot be sanctified, without first being justified unto eternal life. Why would the Lord send these men out “with power,” casting out devils, and healing the sick, and preaching Him, but they were unsaved?
Luk 9:44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
Luk 9:45 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.
Moreover, notice in John chapter 2, in the beginning the disciples “believed on him.” They believed that he was the Messiah, the Christ, the savior of the world. Their unbelief concerns the resurrection of the dead, this is where they understood not this saying. The resurrection of the dead was “hid from them,” they had not yet “perceived” what the scriptures had prophesied concerning the resurrection of the dead. And just as first Corinthians chapter 15 says, it was written in the scriptures that Jesus would die, and be buried, and be raised again on the third day, Jesus Himself also preached this gospel concerning Himself.
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Therefore, we will see what the Word of God says concerning their understanding, in what they did not yet believe concerning what the scriptures had said about Jesus. Notice in the verses below, we see in verse 22 that after Jesus was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this saying unto them, and that’s when they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus said concerning His resurrection from the dead. This saying was ‘now believed’ by them concerning His resurrection, this is where they had not “understood” the scripture which prophesied about His resurrection from the dead.
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Joh 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Joh 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
Joh 2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
And notice what the verses below say in Luke chapter 24, the Lord “opened their understanding” concerning the scriptures as it was written about the death burial and resurrection of the Lord. The Lord said that the prophets and Moses, and the psalms wrote about the death burial and resurrection. And as we can see the Apostle’s unbelief concerned what the scriptures foretold about the resurrection of the dead, not that he was the Messiah, the Christ, the savior of the world. And notice in John chapter 20, when they saw the Lord not in the tomb, they believed the scripture, and they remembered the words of the Lord, and as verse 9 says, “for as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” This is where they understood none of these things, and those things were the “sayings” about the resurrection of the “Christ” from the dead, and not their unbelief about the Lord being the Redeemer that “would redeem Israel.”
Luk 24:44 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.
Luk 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Joh 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
Joh 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
Finally, John the Baptist, and the Apostles were born with the same ‘sin ailment’ that all man has had since Adam; they were born in Adam as sinners, and in need of salvation just like all mankind today. But John and the Apostles were saved from the debt and penalty of sin against them based upon their belief in the Redeemer, the “Lamb of God,” as the scriptures prophesied Who would take away the sin of the world. And John and the Apostles knew their Redeemer, even if they had not yet ‘seen Him,’ but they knew eventually as Luke 3:6 says, “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” John new in his ministry that he would be made manifest unto Israel, this cleansing of the nation bye the prophet of the Lord was done unto all of those that would believe by faith alone in the Redeemer alone. After they would repent, this means after they would acknowledge their offense as according to the scripture, and understand the necessity of redemption based upon their need for salvation from the dead and penalty of sin against them, they would be saved out of Adam based upon the gospel that John was preaching concerning the Redeemer which would come after him. And once they would believe this gospel of their salvation, they would then be water baptized unto sanctification as a cleansing, and a purification, into a new identification. But it was their belief in the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” that justified them unto eternal life, this was all done before Jesus died and was buried and had “rose again” the third day. But their belief in what all the prophets from Adam to Moses, and now to John prophesied concerning the Redeemer’s redemption to save them, this is the gospel preached concerning the Lord concerning faith alone in the Redeemer alone according to the scriptures. The scriptures prophesied that the Lord was raised from the dead for their sakes (Isa.53, and all the Prophets), but when the Lord would die, and be buried, He would “again” be raised from the dead according to the scriptures.
Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
Rod Jones
SUPPLY OF GRACE 
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