Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. (Mark 8: 31-32)

This was not the long-understood promise. This was not the expectation. This was not how the faithful wanted to be redeemed.

This teaching - also referenced in Matthew and Luke - was totally neglected. There is no suggestion that after the crucifixion anyone was expecting Jesus to rise again.

Many Christians expect the return of Jesus. This return is usually described with highly dramatic - even melodramatic - images.

It seems to me that since our encounter with God on Mt. Sinai the divine has chosen increasingly subtle ways of reaching out to us.

Given this previous behavior I sometimes wonder if Jesus has already returned, but we have failed to notice.