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.)
We have already considered Jesus’ words to His disciples in Mark 14:27: “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, ‘I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’” He then adds this deeply encouraging prophecy: “But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee” (verse 28). The disciples respond negatively to the prediction of verse 27, as we studied yesterday (verses 29-31). However, Jesus’ promise of His Resurrection receives no comment; it is almost as though they did not hear Jesus. No doubt both prophecies are important; for Jesus utters both, and they are written down in God’s Word. However, if we were to ask which statement is more central to the Christian faith, the answer must be the Resurrection. We understand that the disciples were taken aback at their prophesied failure, but we wonder how they could have missed the wonder of Jesus’ repeated emphasis on His ultimate victory over death. Certainly a good lesson for us is that we can all too easily miss the teaching of the Word of God. Yes, the disciples were tired and emotional – a volatile combination for us, too – but they continually overlooked the greatest good news in Jesus’ statements regarding the future. Let us resolve to hear and to heed the compassionate and comprehensive words of our Savior God.