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.)
The call of James and John by Jesus is found in Mark 1:19-20: “And when He had gone a little farther thence, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway He called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after Him.” The brothers were cousins of Jesus (comparing Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25, we find that their mother Solome was a sister of Mary). John was previously, like Andrew, a follower of John the Baptist (also a cousin – a more distant one – see Luke 1:36-41). John 1:35-41 details how John the Baptist encouraged his followers to become disciples of Jesus. All of these connections are preparatory to the individual decisions that the brothers made to respond to Jesus’ call. Each one of us should periodically review how we came to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Usually, numerous factors were involved, including family influences. We should recognize the gracious and efficacious hand of God in superintending circumstances to bring us to the point of responding to His offer of salvation. His constant efforts to “draw” us (John 6:44) to Himself reveal a persistent love that is lavished upon us even before our salvation, “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8).