But it was not an easy process. The Twelve could be amazingly thick headed. There was a reason they weren't the academic elite. Jesus Himself often said things like, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand?" (Matthew 15:16—17; cf. 16:9). "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe" (Luke 24:25). It is significant that Scripture doesn't cover their defects. The point is not to portray them as superholy luminaries or to elevate them above mere mortals. If that were the aim, there would be no reason to record their character flaws. But instead of whitewashing the
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