every point to follow Jesus but were simply overwhelmed by both him and his demands. Jesus’ efforts to lead the disciples to understand were matched by their fear and their hardness of heart. Theirs was not the determined opposition to Jesus of the authorities—they were trying to be his followers. They did consistently misunderstand Jesus’ teaching and ended up by failing him utterly. Yet they had followed him to Jerusalem. Jesus just could not lead his chosen disciples (effectively, the Twelve)