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.)
Jesus begins an explanation of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 in Mark 10:5: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘For the hardness of your heart he [Moses] wrote you this precept.’” Jesus is not suggesting that this part of the Old Testament (or any other part of it) is not from God, for II Timothy proclaims, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work” – including marriage. We should remember also that Jesus’ ministry was in accordance with the Old Testament and in fulfillment of it: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, ‘Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled’” (Matthew 5:17-18). Thus, Jesus affirmed throughout His ministry and actually by His ministry that the Old Testament is God-ordained Scripture. What He is pointing out in verse 5 is that the sad subject of divorce reveals “the hardness” of the hearts of mankind. Because we are sinners, we are inherently selfish, thinking first of ourselves – and sometimes only of ourselves. Jesus was calling for something more radical than heart surgery; He was demanding a heart transplant, a new heart from Him: “’This is the covenant that I will make with them after these days,’ saith the Lord, ‘I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins will I remember no more’” (Hebrews 10:16-17, quoting from Jeremiah 31:33-34). This “hardness” of heart is the underlying problem that all of us must acknowledge and face honestly.