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 12:38-40, Jesus counsels the gathered public to avoid false teachers.” “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.” The scribes loved attention; they also loved power – the “chief seats” and the “uppermost rooms.” It is good to learn at a young age that life is not a popularity contest. Remember your mother saying, “If so-and-so jumped off a bridge, would you?” She was right to warn us against the insidious power of popularity, for “so-and-so” was always one of the popular kids and was generally headed in the wrong direction. The principle extends into adulthood. Politicians read their polls (think of Jared Golden changing his mind about males in female sports after a decade or more of supporting so-called transgenderism). Television personalities rise and fall according to their ratings. Influencers (none of whom influence me) number their followers and live for their fifteen minutes of viral fame. For Christians, the problem is a bit more subtle. We do not want to be unpopular (who does?), for we want others to become Christians. However, we must not seek popularity by minimizing our Christianity. Jesus is telling us to “beware” of this persistent temptation. I think of C. S. Lewis’s statement about a character in the novel That Hideous Strength: “[He] liked to be liked. There was a good deal of spaniel in him.” Let us not be like the spaniel; let us be like Christ.