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 concludes His answer to Peter’s implied question of Mark 10:28 with a warning against pride: “But many that are first shall be last, and the last first (verse 31). Peter’s sense of self-sacrifice had clouded his spiritual perception. Thus, Jesus employed a paradoxical statement to startle Peter and the other disciples out of any complacent self-satisfaction. In Mark 10, Jesus had dealt directly with the insufferable Pharisees, who thought that they were “first”; in fact, they were extraordinary influential. Most people in Israel likely would have agreed that the Pharisees were “first.” Jesus placed them “last,” for they saw no need for repentance and forgiveness. The rich young ruler also seemed to be a “first,” but he walked away from discipleship and life eternal. Conversely, the children, considered “last,” were presented to everyone as an example of how to be “first”: “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (verse 15b). Certainly Jesus’ pithy paradox of verse 28 and both the negative and positive examples in Mark 10 should have combined to gain the disciples’ full attention and should earn ours as well.