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 5:21-24 begins the story-within-a-story account of two miracles by Jesus: “And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him: and He was nigh unto the sea. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, and besought Him greatly, saying, ‘My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.’ And Jesus went with him; and much people followed Him, and thronged Him.” Jairus was a religious leader, part of the hierarchy that had accused Jesus of heresy and of being possessed by demons. Yet this man turns to Jesus in a moment of extreme personal crisis. Jairus evaluated his beloved daughter’s deteriorating condition, correctly concluded that it was humanly hopeless, and desperately sought out the One Who had healed others. Jesus was his last hope, and this hope would prove to be merited. Jesus immediately responded to this father’s plea. Thus, a principle emerges for us: Jesus responds to desperation. He does not purse His lips and shake His head at our slowness to believe, nor does He ignore our needs. He remains Who He is – our Savior.