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 is intrinsically merciful, anyone can come to Him for the mercy (the withholding of deserved punishment) that we all need. The prediction of Jesus’ birth in Luke 1:78-79 includes the assurance that it was “through the tender mercy of our God” that this Savior would be provided for us. This mercy was available to all Jewish people, as exemplified by Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), but it was also offered to all non-Jewish people. In Matthew 15:22a, a Gentile “woman of Canaan… cried unto Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David.’ “ Jesus then spoke with this woman, drew out her faith, and miraculously healed her daughter (verses 22b-28). We should note that both genders, male and female, are included in these two Scriptural examples. I think of the Frederick Faber hymn “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” Yes, there is. The mercy of Jesus is available to all people.