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.)
The last public sermon from Jesus was not about salvation, love, or resurrection; it was a warning against false teachers: “And He said unto them in His doctrine, ‘Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation’” (Mark 12:38-40). The “scribes,” teachers of the law, were usually Pharisees. Jesus excoriates them for their “love” of attention. We recognize that children who act out to attract attention need to be dealt with through appropriate discipline; otherwise, their unacceptable behavior will only worsen as they reach adulthood. We understand that children need to learn right from wrong. Adults like the scribes should have already learned to reject the temptation of attention-grabbing. Do we crave attention? Jesus tells us, “Beware.” Rather than be like these sophomoric scribes, let us emulate John the Baptist who said and lived the following: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).