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.)
It is not possible to close out a study of “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), of “the riches of His glory” (Ephesians 3:16). Any word of prayer, Bible verse, or thought about our Lord falls under the infinite category of Jesus’ “unsearchable riches.” However, I have one specific application to make before we move to a different Biblical topic. Acts 3:1-11 records the miraculous healing of a man who was “lame from his mother’s womb” (verse 2). He asked Peter and John for money (verses 3-5), for begging was his only means of financial support. Peter responded, “silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” (verse 6). No, we do not have much “silver and gold”; most Christians through the centuries and now are not materially wealthy. Nor do we possess the apostolic gift of healing (II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:20), although, of course, God still heals in various ways, including miraculously. What we do have and what we can always give is the Gospel. Verse 8 says that the healed man was “walking, and leaping, and praising God” (verse 8). Peter immediately used this divinely appointed opportunity to preach about Jesus (verses 12-26), leading to the salvation of “about five thousand” (4:4). Salvation is always the greatest miracle, and the salvation message is what each one of us can give to others. Through us, many more can enter into “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”