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.)
Because Jesus knows all things, He never needs reminders. However, we do. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they placed twelve stones (one for each tribe) as a “memorial” (Joshua 4:7) at the place of their crossing of the Jordan River. Certainly the Lord would always remember this spot, but future generations of Israelites needed this memorial of God’s provision. Later, in Joshua 24:26-27, Joshua set up a “great stone” as a reminder to the people of God’s covenant with them and as “a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.” Some years ago, I read a convincing article by an art expert who argued that the most effective memorials were simple rather than ornate, for the fancy monuments draw attention to themselves instead of to the events or individuals that they commemorate. The unadorned stones in Joshua focused the people’s attention where it belonged – on the Lord. Likewise, the greatest memorial of the New Testament is the Cross, which directs us to the saving work of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Its simple shape reminds us of what we should never neglect – the eternal , demonstrated love of our Savior.