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.)
If any of us looked into a mirror last Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), we broke the Pharisaical Sabbath law. (My looks probably broke the mirror as well.) The Pharisees’ rationale was that if a person gazed into a mirror, saw a gray hair, and pulled it out, he would be guilty of working on the Sabbath. (I would have to put in a full day’s work, at least.) This bizarre and legalistic approach to life included ritual washing (what the Pharisees called “cleannesses”), the single largest item in their man-made rules. Mark 7:1-5 focuses on this issue: “Then came together unto Him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they came from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, ‘Why walk not Thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?’” The issue here is not hygiene; no, it is the unspiritual desire for complicated ceremony in an effort to appear spiritual. A good application for us is that we must not take our personal opinions and preferences and turn them into regulations for others. Such a practice causes division in churches. It can also create long-term problems for individual Christians, who are made to feel inferior or inadequate. Let us avoid taking a small matter and making it a big problem.