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 betrayal, arrest, and abandonment of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:26-52) are reminders of the sad truth of Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” As we saw yesterday, we can “come short” in the area of affection. Another problem is anger. Peter really loved his Lord, but he fails Him when he does not pray (verses 32-41a). Then, Peter again fails when he takes up a sword (verse 47; John 18:10), requiring Jesus’ stern words: “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). The sword has thus become a proverbial symbol of anger. None of us are likely to ever use an actual sword, but anger alone is sufficient to chop off an ear – with words, of course, not a sword. Likely all of us have been attacked verbally. For example, every pastor that I know well has been openly and loudly criticized; somehow, some people think that they have an obligation to engage in such vitriol against devoted ministers of the Gospel. The point is a simple one: we can “come short” in the area of anger. As a practical matter, it is difficult to remain angry while praying. It is possible that anger could rise during a prayer meeting, but I have never experienced or seen that outcome. Jesus provided the antidote for Peter’s potential anger by encouraging him to pray. That lesson is for all of us as well.