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 arrogant and ignorant legalism of the Pharisees and scribes (the religious elites in Israel) in Mark 7:1-5 elicits this response from Jesus: “Well hath Esaias [Isaiah] prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such things ye do” (verses 6-8). Immediately, Jesus corrected these legalists by quoting Scripture (Isaiah 29:13). In so doing, He demonstrated that the core issue was that of authority. The religious leaders focused on their oral tradition, elevating the misinterpretations of men over the clear teachings of the Bible. Jesus directed these misguided misanthropes back to the infallible Word of God, for it is authoritative in all areas of life. Those who remember the compelling preaching of Billy Graham will recall how frequently he said, “The Bible says…” The power of his sermons did not derive from his style (which was always interesting), his intellect (which was considerable), or his personality (which was winsome). Rather, because he spoke based on the authoritative Word of God, his words had authority. Similarly, each Christian who trusts in God’s Word and treats it with respect has the same access to genuine and ongoing spiritual power. We never need to look elsewhere – and we must not look elsewhere.