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.)
Jesus adds further detail in His answer to the disciples’ questions about future events: “And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:7-8). Our Lord makes it clear that real peace on earth is out of man’s reach. We should all seek peace, of course: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). However, man’s sin nature leads inevitably to conflict, as we find in James 4:1: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” Also, since mankind has largely rejected Jesus, “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 7:6), we cannot reasonably expect that any lasting peace will break out across the planet. As I write this devotional in March 2025, there are two major wars in the world. There are numerous other smaller conflicts, including the martyrdom of innocent Christians by followers of Islam in Syria (as well as in other countries). Through the centuries, devout Christians have wondered if a particular war could be the harbinger of the end. Jesus graciously directs our attention away from such speculations. His prophetic statement about ongoing wars both prepares us for the existence of these conflicts and points us to something better. We are not looking for a particular war; we are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).