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.)
What is often called the temptation of Christ is found in Mark 1:12-13: “And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted [tested] of Satan; and was with wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.” This passage affirms that Jesus lived in this raw, real world and understood the sad necessity of spiritual warfare. “Immediately” reveals His setting of priorities. Everything that Jesus would later do, including His preaching and His miraculous works, falls under the broad category of spiritual conflict. Thus, He begins His public ministry by privately confronting Satan, challenging the one who is “the prince of this world” (John 12:31b). “Driveth” does not mean that Jesus was in any way unwilling to fulfill this or any other aspect of His work. Rather, this forceful word indicates the intensity of the battle before Him and reveals that we must be prepared for the same. Ephesians 6:12a reminds us that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” We are also reminded that Jesus knows all about our spiritual struggles. As Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest [Who] cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted [tested] like as we are, yet without sin.” Because Jesus passed every test “without sin,” we can be certain of His solicitude and strength in all of our trials. It is a great encouragement to know that our High Priest and Savior has successfully traversed the plodding and problematic path of this life and will always travel alongside us: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5c).