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.)
Jesus’ detailed prophecy of Mark 10:33-34 is followed by a disturbing account: “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, ‘Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.’ And He said unto them, ‘What would ye that I should do for you?’ They said unto Him, ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory’” (verses 35-37). The parallel passage in Matthew 20:20-28 adds the information that Salome, the mother of James and John, was also involved in this crass request. Jesus had already dealt with this aggressive, competitive attitude in Mark 9:33-35, but that recent lesson had not been heeded. The only positive aspect of this entreaty is that the disciples did believe that Jesus would be revealed in His full “glory” in eternity. Otherwise, the behavior of Jesus’ followers is repugnant. Lord, keep us from this combative, grasping approach to life, for it is the wicked way of this dying world.