Understanding Enough to Wait.

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Matthew 15:16

“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.

Professor: Let’s look at this verse. Jesus says, “Don’t you understand yet?” Who is He speaking to?

Student: His disciples. Peter had just asked Him to explain a parable.

Professor: Right. These were the people closest to Him. They had walked with Him, eaten with Him, watched the miracles. And still He asks, “Don’t you understand yet?” What does that tell you?

Student: That being close to Him doesn’t mean we understand everything right away.

Professor: Good. Now let me ask you something more personal. Have you ever felt Him ask you that question?

Student: Honestly, yes. Recently. I’ve spent a lot of time writing to Him, giving Him my journals, my thoughts, my prayers. And then this verse came up, and it felt like He was asking me directly.

Professor: What do you think He meant?

Student: At first I thought He was correcting me. But the more I sat with it, the more it sounded like a different question. Almost like He was asking, “Are you ready?”

Professor: Ready for what?

Student: For something He’s doing that I can’t see yet. Something sacred. I can’t explain all of it, but I know there’s a desire in my heart that I can’t deny, and I’ve been waiting on Him.

Professor: And how have you tried to prepare for it?

Student: That’s the thing. I’ve tried to think it through. I’ve rationalized every angle. But I keep landing in the same place. There’s nothing I can figure out that gets me ready. All I can do is wait and let Him work.

Professor: Notice the context of this passage. Jesus was teaching that what defiles a person comes from the heart, not from outward things. The disciples were stuck on what they could see and touch. He was pointing them inward, toward what only God sees.

Student: So understanding isn’t about having it all mapped out.

Professor: Exactly. Sometimes understanding is simply peace. Knowing He’s working in the background even when nothing looks like it’s moving.

Student: I believe that. And I think He’s working on the other side of this too, in someone else’s heart. I wonder what that journey looks like for them.

Professor: That’s a beautiful thing to wonder about. But do you need to know it to trust Him?

Student: No. I’d love to hear about it one day, maybe spend years talking through how He led us both. But right now, that part belongs to Him.

Professor: Then maybe that’s your answer to His question. “Don’t you understand yet?”

Student: I understand enough to wait. I understand that He’s leading, and that whatever unfolds will be for His glory, not mine.

Professor: That’s the kind of understanding the disciples were still growing into. You’re in good company.

This is one piece of the archive, find the rest of the Student and Professor conversations over on TikTok.