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 continues His logical and radical teaching in Mark 8:35: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” The esteemed Christian writer G. K. Chesterton once defined paradox as “truth standing on its head to get attention.” Jesus’ statement is paradoxical, as we might anticipate from the best teacher ever. Imagine a crowded stadium. The game ends, and the spectators cheer wildly and ecstatically, shouting, “We lost! We lost!” Now, that would be completely unexpected. However, the message of Jesus is that the losers win. We give up our own sinful selfishness; we lose what we were: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit [Satan] that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). We gain everything, including purposeful life now and life eternal in heaven. Thus, this paradox of Jesus is indeed truth, everlasting truth.