"Do You Still Not Understand?" How Science Illuminates What Scripture Has Always Assumed About Learning

Deep learning and sustainable growth is slow by design. Discover how neuroscience and education research illuminate what Scripture has always assumed about growth, grace, and formation.

Jacqueline Sohn, PhD

---

Most of us have had the thought—sometimes internally, sometimes out loud:

Will they ever learn?

We repeat ourselves. We explain again. We remind, correct, rephrase.

And eventually frustration sets in. We say and think things like “Forget it. Why even bother?” or we disengage emotionally. We might do this with coworkers, friends, family members—and maybe especially with our kids. In fact, just this morning after one of my kids lost something for the millionth time and I started to remind him he should put his things where they belong, I automatically started to say, “Why do I even both —” before I caught myself and stopped. And I probably only caught myself because I was in the middle of writing this blog post! It’s normally so automatic for me to respond this way, I don’t think twice about it.

And maybe we don’t reserve this posture for others. We turn it inward.

Why do I keep falling into the same patterns?

Why don’t I remember what I already know?

Why am I not growing faster by now?

Condemnation creeps in—toward others and toward ourselves.

I wonder if our posture would change when we consider that modern education and life science research has a lot to say about how people learn. Our minds, habits and actions form sustainably through repetition, struggle, questions, relationship, and time.

Interestingly, Scripture has assumed this all along.

Long before neuroscience mapped memory consolidation or educators studied retrieval practice and neuroplasticity, the Bible shows learning as slow, relational, and often frustrating. We can see this clearly in the way Jesus teaches his disciples.

Confusion and Doubt Are Part of Formation

The disciples ask the “wrong” questions constantly. They argue about status. They misunderstand metaphors. They resist truths that threaten their expectations.

Jesus names their fear and lack of understanding but he does not shame them for it.

From a learning science perspective, this is significant. Research shows that durable learning often requires productive struggle—moments of doubt, dissonance, and uncertainty that force the brain to reorganize existing assumptions. Learning accelerates when confusion is tolerated within a safe relationship rather than punished.

Jesus exemplifies how to provide this safety for others. He doesn’t demand immediate clarity. He patiently and repeatedly allows space for confusion and even outright rebellion without severing relationships.

Why Shame Disrupts Learning

Shame, by contrast, disrupts learning. When we shame others (or ourselves), we’re not just being unkind—we’re often making learning harder.

Neuroscience consistently shows that chronic shame and stress interfere with executive functioning, which in turn interferes with memory, attention, and integration. When people feel defective, they disengage. When they feel safe enough to stay and return, growth, learning and healing can be sustained.

This is one reason “Why can’t you get it?” so often backfires. Shame increases cognitive load. It invites hiding rather than curiosity. People may comply in the short term, but they integrate less, retain less, and transfer less over time. What looks like “discipline” or “motivation” can quietly undermine learning itself.

Do I need to repeat myself?... - Yes, most likely.

We often treat repetition as proof that someone isn’t listening or doesn’t care. Sometimes, this is true. Generally, however, research suggests the opposite is often the case: repetition—especially spaced over time—is one of the most reliable ways humans retain and use knowledge.

• Spaced practice / distributed practice (revisiting content across time) consistently outperforms cramming in many contexts, including applied classroom settings.

• Many education reviews also highlight spaced, interleaved, and retrieval-based approaches as high-yield strategies for long-term retention and transfer.

• Cognitive load researchers further note that spacing and interleaving can work through different mechanisms, and benefit depends on task and design.

  
  

Scripture’s “remembering practices” (re-telling, songs, feasts, liturgy) make sense in this light: the biblical posture isn’t “you should never forget,” but “you will forget—so we will build rhythms of return.”

Relationship Is the Optimal Learning Environment

Jesus does not teach from a distance. It strikes me that he teaches relationally.

He teaches while walking, eating, resting, traveling, and living alongside his disciples. Correction often happens privately. He shows us how restoration is relational, not procedural.

I’ve been reading the Gospel of Mark recently, noticing Jesus’ interactions with his disciples in new ways. The disciples consistently fail to grasp what Jesus is showing them. They misunderstand his parables (Mark 4). They panic in the boat after already witnessing his authority over nature (Mark 4:38–41).

They also fail to understand the meaning of the loaves. After Jesus feeds thousands—twice—the disciples still worry about not having enough bread and miss what the miracles were revealing: not just that Jesus can provide food, but who he is, and what kind of kingdom he brings (Mark 6; Mark 8).

The issue isn’t lack of information; it’s lack of integration.

This same pattern appears when Jesus speaks plainly about his coming suffering, death and resurrection. At least three times, he tells them he will be rejected, killed, and rise again (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34). These aren’t vague hints—they are direct and repeated explanations meant to prepare and reassure them. Yet each time, his words seem to go over their heads. Instead of seeking to learn more, they argue about status, power, or who will be greatest.

“Do You Still Not Understand?” Jesus and the Patience of Learning

It’s after one of these moments—when they still don’t get it—that Jesus asks, “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:21).

We often read that question with our own tone layered onto it—exasperation, irritation, even anger. When we say “Do you still not understand?” it usually signals we’re done explaining.

Jesus’ question carries something different. It reflects sorrow and holy frustration, yes—but it’s grounded in an unfathomably deep concern for their good, not disappointment that disqualifies them. His response is not to give up on them as hopeless cases.

Instead, Jesus keeps teaching. He keeps inviting. He explains again, shows again, asks new questions, and stays with them—knowing they will fail again.

Science helps us name why this “still not understanding” pattern is so common and persistent. Durable learning is formed over time through repetition, correction, and re-engagement as memory traces are strengthened (neuroplasticity)—not through a single moment of insight. Scripture doesn’t present this as a flaw in learners but as a normal pathway to growth, shown in the way God interacts with His people with extraordinary patience, time and time again.

Jesus’ approach also aligns closely with what neuroscience tells us: people learn best in environments of relational safety. Trust increases attention, retention, and meaning-making. Fear and humiliation do the opposite.

This sounds obvious, but maybe it's not. I wonder if the fear and humiliation response is more common—often subtle, in the form of threats (“if you/they/I do this one more time…”) or diminishing spirits (“what’s wrong with you/them/me?”).

---

I have never thought about Grace this way, but I wonder if we can see it as not only theological, but practical too—in the sense that it creates the optimal conditions under which deep learning can occur.

---

Why Knowing Does Not Automatically Lead to Becoming

What neuroscience confirms is what Scripture has assumed all along: deep learning that endures takes time, patience, and repeated return. Immediate clarity is the exception in learning, although our expectations of ourselves and others don’t align with this reality.

One of the most consistent assumptions in Scripture is that knowing does not equal becoming.

The disciples witness miracles and still panic. They hear teaching and still misunderstand. They express loyalty and still abandon Jesus under pressure.

And yet, formation continues.

Modern psychology confirms this distinction. Insight alone rarely produces lasting change. Transformation requires time, repetition, embodied practice, and sustained support. Learning unfolds unevenly, with progress, regression, and return.

Scripture never treats this as surprising.

Personal Responsibility Without Shame

None of this removes agency. People make choices. Scripture calls for repentance, obedience, and growth.

But learning science and Scripture agree on something most of us resist: insight is not the same as transformation. Change is typically iterative—practice, relapse, reorientation, return.

This is why responsibility in Scripture is held within patience, not contempt. Jesus does not treat slow growth as insincerity or unwillingness to learn. He challenges his disciples and still stays with them, because he doesn't view their slowness and failures as hopeless.

What This Changes in Everyday Life

Applying This With Others

Instead of “forget it” or “you should know this by now,” we practice structured return. That can look like:

• restating expectations calmly rather than raising intensity (“Let’s try this again together”)

• using brief, repeated cues instead of long explanations

• building in practice over time (checklists, routines, reminders) rather than assuming once is enough

• correcting without contempt—naming the gap while staying relational

  
  

Research shows learning strengthens through repetition and retrieval; in Mark, Jesus does the same—re-teaching, re-framing, and staying with the disciples even when understanding lags.

Applying This With Ourselves

When we forget, stall, or regress, we pause instead of condemn. Practically, this might mean:

• noticing patterns without judgment (“This is where I lose focus”)

• returning to small, sustainable practices rather than restarting with pressure

• using prompts that support memory and habit (notes, rhythms, cues)

• allowing progress to be uneven without abandoning the process

  
  

Uneven learning becomes information—not evidence of failure.

Grace Creates the Conditions for Growth

The Christian frame adds something more:

God’s patience with our slowness is not indulgence; it is wisdom. He works with how people actually grow—through safety, repetition, relationship, and time.

So we keep sojourning: observing honestly, re-orienting gently, and returning again and again—trusting that formation happens not through force, but through faithful presence.

Final Reflection: This Is How People Learn

Before we say “They’ll never learn,”

before we shame ourselves for forgetting,

before we give up on slow growth—

it may be worth remembering:

This is how people learn.

Remember, fellow Learners: When impatience surfaces, we don’t condemn ourselves. We return, practicing patience with ourselves as we learn how to respond patiently.

---

References (the Bible is a given)

Learning, Memory, and Spaced Practice

Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher, R. W. Pew, L. M. Hough, & J. R. Pomerantz (Eds.), Psychology and the real world: Essays illustrating fundamental contributions to society (pp. 56–64). Worth Publishers.

Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354

Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2009). Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 20(11), 1095–1102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02439.x

Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2021). A meta-analytic review of the benefit of spacing out retrieval practice. Educational Psychology Review, 33, 959–987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09571-8

Mawson, R. D., et al. (2025). The distributed practice effect on classroom learning: A systematic review of applied research. Educational Psychology Review. Advance online publication. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12189222/

Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x

Cognitive Load, Interleaving, and Learning Design

Chen, O., Paas, F., & Sweller, J. (2021). Spacing and interleaving effects require distinct theoretical bases: A systematic review testing the cognitive load and discriminative-contrast hypotheses. Educational Psychology Review, 33, 1499–1522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09538-9

Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4

Sweller, J., Ayres, P., & Kalyuga, S. (2019). Cognitive load theory (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93773-7

Productive Struggle and Learning Through Failure

Sinha, T., & Kapur, M. (2021). When problem solving followed by instruction works: Evidence and explanations. Review of Educational Research, 91(3), 408–444. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543211019105

Kapur, M. (2016). Examining productive failure, productive success, unproductive failure, and unproductive success in learning. Educational Psychologist, 51(2), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2016.1155457

Stress, Shame, Emotion, and Learning

Almarzouki, A. F., et al. (2024). Stress, working memory, and academic performance: A systematic review. Stress, 27(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2024.2364333

Córdova, A., et al. (2023). The influence of stress and emotion on learning and memory: A neurocognitive review. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1181789. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1181789

Immordino-Yang, M. H., Darling-Hammond, L., & Krone, C. R. (2019). Nurturing nature: How brain development is inherently social and emotional, and what this means for education. Educational Psychologist, 54(3), 185–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2019.1633924

Relational Safety, Motivation, and Learning

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Routledge.

Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267–301. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311405999