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’ words in Mark 13:20 have often been misinterpreted: “And except the Lord shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom He hath chosen, He hath shortened the days.” I frequently say that a text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext. In other words, we can easily twist the meaning of a verse or passage if we are not careful: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). The immediate context of Jesus’ statement is a warning about the time we call the Tribulation, a period a little less than seven years long (the Jewish people used a lunar calendar). During this terrible period, many people will still be saved: these folks are the ones “whom He hath chosen.” Jewish people will be saved in large numbers (Romans 11:26-27, quoting Isaiah 59:20-21); others will be saved as well (Revelation 7:9-17). Some of these people saved during the Tribulation will be martyred for their faith; other new believers will be spared to inhabit Israel after the Tribulation (Mark 13:27 – more about that verse at a later date). This passage, then, does not speak about Christians who are saved before the Tribulation, for these believers have already been raptured to heaven (see I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-57, among many other references). Believers today are not looking for the Tribulation; we are “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).