Why are they so slow? They are slow because they represent the whole human race. While they are privileged people because they have actually walked with the Lord, lived by the side of the Lord, and therefore they are deeply impressed by him and believe in him; though they have those advantages, they represent, in their slowness of mind to understand, the whole human race. If they are slow, how much more is everybody else slow to understand the message of the gospel? But why is everyone so slow to understand this message? The Lord comes; he is present among disciples; they know he is the Lord. He teaches them the word of God, he shows them that man is so sinful that he must come out of heaven to suffer and die and bear the punishment of sinful man, so that man can be pardoned and forgiven. He explains it to them, then he begins to prepare them for his execution, for the crucifixion. He explains to them that the time is coming, he has to go to Jerusalem. At Jerusalem he is going to be crucified, he tells them that. They almost stop their ears as he says it. The Apostle Peter says, ‘Far be it from thee, Lord, these things shall not happen to you.’ ‘But these things will happen’, says the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘It is necessary.’ Then he tells them that he is going to appear, he is going to rise again. And yet, when it happened, they didn't understand. They had it firmly fixed in their mind that now he was come, he would somehow take control of the Jewish world, and he would rise to political control and supremacy and take over. He would be the King of the Jews, an earthly king, and he would organize things that the Roman armies would be pushed out of Judah and Samaria, and the Jewish state would be re-established once again with King Jesus ruling and reigning. Because they thought that is what he was going to do, they were plunged into despair when he was arrested, allowed himself to be arrested, and when he was crucified.