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.)
In Mark 12:9, Jesus provides the conclusion of His parable of the “vineyard” (the nation of Israel): “What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.” The religious leaders could not refute Jesus’ logic; in fact, they echoed His conclusion. In the parallel account in Matthew 21:33-46, this additional detail is given: “They say unto Him, ‘He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons’” (verse 41). The parallel passage in Luke 20:9-18 adds that the religious elites used a strong statement of horror: “God forbid” (verse 16). They knew exactly what Jesus was saying and understood that it was right and true. Jesus’ prediction was fulfilled almost four decades later when Jerusalem was destroyed in A. D. 70 and the people of the nation who survived were scattered. Jesus took no joy in this prophecy: Luke 19:41b records that when “He beheld the city, and wept over it.” His parable reveals that the authority of the religious establishment would end and that His authority would be vindicated.