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 list of apostles includes “Matthew” in Mark 3:18. We have previously discussed Matthew, based on Mark 2:13-17. He was a tax collector, working for the despised Romans. His conversion to faith in Christ Jesus and his choice as an apostle by his Savior both reveal God’s great grace. It is challenging for wealthy people to respond to God’s saving call. Jesus warned, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money]” (Matthew 6:24d). Paul touched upon this subject in I Corinthians 1:26: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” These groups of people were the wealthiest in society, and few of them could take their eyes off their money long enough to see Jesus. Most of us (perhaps all) wish that we had more resources. I know that I would like to make my wife’s earthly future more secure financially. However, if those riches shackle us spiritually, the trade-off is simply not worth it. As Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” These sobering words should cause us to rejoice in our eternal salvation – and in rich Matthew’s relatively rare response to receive life everlasting through faith in Jesus Christ.