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.)
Mark 1:16-18 records the call of Jesus to Peter (“Simon”) and Andrew: “Now as He walked by the sea [lake] of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, ‘Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.’ And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.” We see again the historical detail found in Scripture; specific people (named!) are engaged in a specific profession at a specific locale. Jesus’ choice of words is also compelling, for He speaks in a manner that would be readily understood by commercial fishermen. When we compare Scripture to Scripture (as we always should), we find that Andrew had previously been a follower of John the Baptist, had been directed to Jesus by John, and had quickly reached out to his brother Peter (John 1:35-41). The brothers’ decision to follow “straightway,” then, was not an impulsive, rash choice. They had carefully considered the claims of Jesus to be the promised Savior; as Andrew had said to Peter in John 1:41b, “’We have found the Messiah,’ which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” These two men had their day planned – really, their whole lives planned – for they were good at fishing. However, they rapidly set aside their reasonable life goals to embark on a spiritual journey with Jesus. Undoubtedly, they suffered financially, as many servants of the Lord have through the centuries. Their compensation was doing the right thing and being rewarded with life eternal.