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.)
We return to Jesus’ parable of Mark 4:21-23: “And He said unto them, ‘Is a candle [lamp] brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick [lampstand]? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.” As we have seen the last two days, Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12b). Rather stunningly, however, Jesus says of believers, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a). Clearly, then, the light of Jesus shines not only into our lives but also through them. He makes this point in Matthew 5:14b-15: “A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle [lamp], and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick [lampstand]; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” It is possible, though, because we still possess a sin nature, to seek to shine the spotlight on ourselves. Matthew 5:16 commands, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,” – oh, but let us not stop there! – “and glorify your Father [Who] is in heaven.” Those of you familiar with Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre will likely remember that the benefactor of a girls’ school placed his name on the school with this verse attached. Clearly, he completely missed the meaning of Jesus’ words (the author was illustrating the hypocrisy of that rich and lascivious character). This “look-at-me” lamp of the world has no place in Christianity. Let us strive to direct all attention to Jesus, for He alone can and will save souls for eternity.