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.)
After refuting the false premise of the Pharisees that the eating of grain by His disciples was a violation of the prohibition of work on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-26), Jesus articulated a kind principle: “And He said unto them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath’” (verse 27). A couple of thoughts come to mind. First, too many people have an unbalanced view of Christianity. A common and incorrect belief is that the Christian faith is primarily negative, a list of restrictions. There are many things that are not good for us, and we are compassionately commanded to avoid these destructive activities. However, our good God always provides additional instruction that directs us to replace the bad with the good. A day of worship is good for us (more about that point tomorrow), and it directs us away from the suffocating rules of legalists. Second, our Savior God has “made” this day of worship for us. We should not be surprised. Jesus promised to make an eternal home for us: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2c). Why then wouldn’t He prepare a day for us now? If we remember that Jesus has ordained this day “for man,” we will recognize it as a gift from Him and will appreciate both Him and it even more.