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 10:1 indicates a major geographical shift in Jesus’ ministry: “And He arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts [region] of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto Him again; and, as He was wont, He taught them again.” His movement to Judea is movement to His Cross, as He had been predicting to His closest disciples (Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32). It is illuminating and humbling to see that, as our Lord approached His necessary and prophesied sacrificial atonement, He did not change His sanctified routine: “As He was wont [accustomed], He taught them again.” This concern for the spiritual development of “the people” unites with His ongoing emphasis on basic doctrine. The command to all teachers of the Word, from Sunday school teachers leading a class of toddlers to preachers in churches large and small to evangelists who regularly preach to tens of thousands, is to “speak the things which become [are fitting for, are consistent with] sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Any movement away from this “sound doctrine” is impermissible and will lead inevitably to movement away from the Cross of Christ, away from the central truths of Christianity. Just as Jesus pressed on physically to the Cross and persevered in His consistent teaching, let us make sure that we continue in “sound doctrine.” Otherwise, we will find ourselves in spiritual peril.