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.)
Mark 1:29-31 provides an interesting vignette from the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry: “And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell Him of her. And He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.” On this Saturday (the Jewish day of worship), faith and family were at the forefront. After a meaningful service at “the synagogue,” Jesus and His small band of disciples spent the rest of the day with Simon Peter’s family. This pattern is a good one for us to follow. We note that Peter was married; his willingness to respond to Jesus’ call meant that he would be away from his wife and home for extended periods. He needed his wife’s shared commitment to Jesus in order to be an effective disciple; any married man in the ministry knows how crucial this mutual faith is. Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law reveals His kind heart and the completeness of His power, for she was immediately fully well and strong. As the matriarch of the household, she dearly wanted to serve her family and her guests. Jesus made it possible for her to fulfill her domestic desire. We see that Jesus knows all about His people and truly cares about the things that we care about.