Better Not To Know

Es mejor no saber

Y les dijo: No os toca a vosotros saber los tiempos o las sazones, que el Padre puso en su sola potestad. (Hechos 1:7)

Justo antes de ascender al cielo, Jesús habló con sus discípulos en el Monte de los olivos. Ellos le preguntaron (Hechos 1:6) si era el tiempo de que Jesús restaurara el reino a Israel, es decir, si era el tiempo de establecer completamente el reino mesiánico.

Better Not To Know

Jesús les contestó diciéndoles que no os toca a vosotros saber. Jesús les advirtió que no se enfocaran en los detalles del tiempo del reino de Dios, porque esas cosas pertenecen solo a Dios el Padre (que el Padre puso en su sola potestad).

Al mismo tiempo, Jesús no dijo que no iba a haber restauración del reino a Israel; Simplemente dijo que no era apropiado para los discípulos que se enfocaran en la hora y fecha de esta restauración. Fue como si Jesús les hubiera dicho: No piensen en eso ahora, tengo algo más importante en lo que deben enfocarse.

Por otro lado, tengo que preguntarme: ¿por qué no les dijo Jesús más acerca de cuándo y cómo, en general, el reino mesiánico sería completamente establecido?

La Biblia enseña (y creemos) que Jesús es Dios. Por lo tanto, Él sabía que la historia continuaría al menos 2,000 años después de ese tiempo. ¿Por qué no les dijo Jesús a los discípulos?

Los discípulos esperaban que fuera pronto que el reino fuera completamente restaurado a Israel, pero Jesús sabía que era mejor que no supieran que pasaría mucha historia antes de que eso sucediera. Por varias razones, creo que fue prudente que Jesús no diera un resumen general de Su plan para los próximos 2,000 años.

– Si Jesús les hubiera dicho, es probable que se hubieran desanimado demasiado.
– Pueden haber sentido que su trabajo sería inútil.
– Sería fácil para ellos pensar menos de los aspectos del reino de Dios que si estaban presentes con ellos en ese momento. Solo porque el reino no sería completamente restaurado a Israel en el momento presente, eso no significa que el reino de Dios estuviera ausente de la tierra.

Probablemente podamos pensar en razones adicionales, pero hay algo importante que debemos aprender: cuando Jesús no nos dice algo, tiene buen razón por ello. Puede ser difícil aceptarlo, pero es una parte necesaria del discipulado. 

No todas las preguntas serán contestadas y no todo misterio será resuelto. No significa que Jesús te ame menos o que sea menos bueno contigo. Simplemente significa que Jesús sabe que es mejor para nosotros no saber algunas cosas, o que es mejor para nosotros saberlas después. 

Cuando sientes que Jesús no contesta tu pregunta, consuélate sabiendo que ¡a veces es mejor no saber!

Haz clic aquí para el comentario de David de Hechos 1

Daily Devotional with David Guzik

“A Road That Is Longer, Tougher – But Better” – Exodus 13:17-18 – August 6 2020

Better Not To Know

Better Not To Know

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:7)

Just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus spoke with His disciples on the Mount of Olives. They asked (Acts 1:6) if it was now the time for Jesus to restore the kingdom to Israel – that is, if it was time to fully establish the Messianic kingdom.

Better Not To Know

Jesus answered the question by telling them It is not for you to know. Jesus warned the disciples against focusing on the details of the timing of God’s kingdom, because those things belong to God the Father alone (which the Father has put in His own authority).

At the same time, Jesus did not say that there was to be no restoration of the kingdom to Israel; He simply said that focusing into the time and date of this restoration was not proper for the disciples. It was as if Jesus said to them, “Don’t think about that right now – I’ve got something more important for you to focus on.”

At the same time, I have to wonder: why didn’t Jesus tell them more about how and when, in general, the Messianic kingdom would be fully established?

The Bible teaches (and we believe) that Jesus is God. Therefore, He knew that history would continue for at least 2,000 years after that time. Why didn’t Jesus tell the disciples?

The disciples hoped that it would be soon that the kingdom was fully restored to Israel, but Jesus knew that it was better that did not then know that a lot of history would pass before it would happen. For several reasons, I think it was wise for Jesus not to give a general outline His plan over the next 2,000 years.

– If Jesus had told them, it is likely that they would have been overly discouraged.
– They may have felt that their present work would be useless.
– It would be easy for them to think less of the aspects of God’s kingdom that were present with them at the moment. Just because the kingdom would not fully be restored to Israel at the present moment, that did not mean that the kingdom of God was absent from the earth.

We could probably think of more reasons, but there is something important for us to learn: when Jesus doesn’t tell us something, He has a good reason for it. It can be hard to accept, but it’s a necessary part of discipleship.

Not every question will be answered and not every mystery solved. It doesn’t mean Jesus loves you any less or is any less good to you. It simply means that Jesus knows that it is better for us not to know some things, or it is better for us to know them later.

When you feel Jesus won’t answer your question, take comfort in knowing that sometimes it’s better not to know!

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 1