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.)
When Jesus is told that His family is outside and wants to see Him (Mark 3:31-32), He uses the moment to teach everyone: “And He answered them, saying, ‘Who is My mother, or My brethren?’ And He looked around about on them [who] sat about Him, and said, ‘Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother’” (verses 33-35). Modern critics of Christ willfully misunderstand this passage, ignorantly asserting that Jesus is denigrating the concept of family. Such an accusation is absurd. First, He is the One Who created the family (Genesis 1-4) and called it “very good” (1:31). Second, He chooses in His Incarnation to be born into a family, revealing His high regard for it. Third, He cares for His family even while He is on the Cross, providing care and comfort for His mother (John 19:25-27). Fourth, His teaching here is that His family is in the process of expanding exponentially, as more and more people (including us!) choose to place their trust in Him for eternal salvation. In fact, Jesus’ continuing use of the imagery of family reveals just how important family was and is to Him. As always, the critics of Jesus were and are demonstrably wrong. May we learn to avoid the critical spirit that lies beneath these baseless assaults upon our good and loving Savior. Surely He deserves better than our worst.