Until long after the fact. Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes. Not always, but sometimes a meaningless detail in the past suddenly becomes clear in the present.
That interim period, however, can be uncomfortable. Confusing. Downright dark.
As we read the stories of Jesus as they are written, we are often immediately handed insights. “This took place to fulfill…” Details are spelled out as significant. Meaningful. Purposeful.
Yet it wasn’t exactly like that for those who lived and wrote it.
The gap between the event and the clarity may very well have been years. Decades even, since most of the Gospels weren’t written down for nearly half a century after Jesus’ death and resurrection. What this means is that the stories were lived, then told, and reflected on for decades, and as they continued to be passed around, clarity gradually came. Sometimes it undoubtedly came quickly; sometimes it probably took a long, long time.
The early faithful disciples of Jesus, which included the Gospel writers, had to live through these interim periods between the events and the understanding. They stayed faithful through the uncomfortable and confusing darkness.
This is the invitation to us in statements like, “This took place to fulfill…” that we come across in the Gospels: Learn how to wait for revelation.
Thank God for the clarity that eventually comes. Thank God for faithful people who will persistently wait as long as it takes.
