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.)
Mark 9:25-27 records another of Jesus’ miraculous healings: “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit [demon], saying unto him, ‘Thou dumb and deaf spirit [demon], I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.’ And the spirit [demon], cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.” With everything that is swirling around this event – the scorn of the scribes, the failure of the disciples, the struggling faith of the father – it would be easy to lose the wonder of this miracle. It was dramatic in its outcome and in its execution, for the strength of the demon was such that the boy appeared to be dead. The tender touch of Jesus “lifted” the boy up, assuring all of the fullness of his health and providing the sudden unfolding of a bright future. Yet, the demon’s final effort at evil is a grim and necessary reminder of the wicked tenacity of Satan. We can take real comfort and encouragement, though, in the fact that the holy tenacity of Jesus is ever and always efficacious: “He [Who] hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6b).