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.)
After James and John overconfidently assert that they are able to endure the same suffering as that of Jesus (Mark 10:39a), He makes this prediction: “And Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized’” (verse 39b). Of course, no one could actually match the suffering of Jesus, for only He could and would experience the spiritual death (really, deaths) of mankind in order to pay the full price for our sin. James would be martyred for his consistent proclamation of the Gospel (Acts 12:1-2); this murder occurred about a decade after Jesus’ statement. John was not martyred; but he suffered the killing of his brother, a lifetime of persecution, and unjust imprisonment as an elderly man (Revelation 1:9). The experiences of these two disciples fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy and also serve as a sober reminder to us of how many people have suffered deeply for the cause of Christ. These brothers were flawed followers of Jesus, but they were faithful followers, ultimately sturdy and staunch in serving their Savior. They grew in their faith over time until their base desires for power and recognition were replaced by a burning drive to direct people to Jesus alone. May we learn to disdain the worldly way of self-promotion, and may we instead pursue the godly way of pointing others to Jesus Christ.