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 been exulting in the truth that Jesus does not exhaust us. He understands our restlessness and offers a remedy. In Matthew 11:28-29, He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” We must choose to submit to Jesus in obedience (“Take My yoke upon you”; He will not force it onto us) and “learn” about Him and from Him. Part of this learning process is a focus on the gentleness and humility of Jesus: “For I am meek and lowly in heart.” There is no rest in pride, for then we are always concerned about keeping up appearances and worrying about what other people will think and say. Jesus’ family thought that He was crazy (Mark 3:21 – “friends” should read “family”), and His opponents accused Him of demon possession (Mark 3:22). How did Jesus respond to these slanders? He died on the Cross; He humbled Himself as a servant (Phil. 2:5-8) for His family, for His enemies, and for us. Only Someone Who possesses rest could do the things that Jesus did. Only Someone Who possesses this rest could then offer it to us.