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 12:1-12 is a remarkable revelation of the kindness of God. Verses 2-5 remind Jesus’ audience that God had sent prophet after prophet to them to teach them and to try to convince them to follow God’s beneficent will. God’s kindness is demonstrated by His sending of these forthright preachers. After all, the nation of Israel already had God’s Law written down and available to them (also a great kindness!). Yet He persists in providing outstanding and distinctive prophets to the people as a further means of blessing them. He does this over many centuries: His kindness is patient. When this kindness was regularly rejected, God Himself, God the Son, came (verses 6-8). The great theologian Martin Luther marveled at this consistent kindness: “If I were God, and the world had treated me as it treated Him, I would kick the wretched thing to pieces.” The renowned preacher Charles Spurgeon also rejoiced in God’s response of kindness: “If you reject Him, He answers you with tears; if you wound Him, He bleeds out cleansing; if you kill Him, He dies to redeem; if you bury Him, He rises again to bring resurrection.” My we make sure that we do not abuse the kindness of our Lord. Instead, may we appreciate it and Him more and more, “for His merciful kindness is great toward us” (Psalm 117:2a).