Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We continue to search out “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) as we think about God’s setting aside of us now and forever. He draws us to Himself (John 6:44; 12:32; 16:13) through His Word (John 1:36-37) and often through family members (II Timothy 1:5), the testimonies of others (Acts 7:58-8:1; 9:1-6), and times of crisis (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 7:24-8:1; Acts 6:7). Another way God draws us is through the power of contrast. One example of many is Matthew. Luke 5:27-32 records his decision to follow Jesus. He was “a publican” – a despised, corrupt tax collector. However, because of that position, he was financially successful and could look forward to a strong stream of income for the rest of his life. Instead, he gave it all up. How would he live? How would he provide for the basic necessities of life? How would he be secure in his old age? These questions were not immediately answered, but Matthew still followed Jesus. This apostle self-identifies as “Matthew, the publican” in Matthew 10:3; clearly, he never covered up his former career. What he found is that his success had never given him any satisfaction. Yes, it is possible to be successful but lack satisfaction; Psalm 106:15, speaking of the rebellious Israelites in the desert, says, “He gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” We can have everything and find that we have only leanness of soul, or we can have Jesus and find that we have life – abundant life right here that stretches into all eternity. This complete contrast helped to prepare Matthew to receive God’s best. We do not have to look very far to see the crumbling lives of the rich and powerful and the calm, steadfast lives of Christians. This compelling contrast is being used constantly by God to draw people to Himself … and He employs it to remind us of His present and eternal goodness to all believers in Jesus Christ.