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.)
The tiniest details in Scripture are important; otherwise, they would not be included. Mark 15:23 provides such a small slice of specificity: “And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but He received it not.” It was customary for the women of Jerusalem to offer this sedative to condemned criminals, reminding us that good, godly people are present even in this most wicked display of man’s sinfulness – the killing of God the Son. Matthew 27:34 says that the narcotic drink is “vinegar… mingled with gall.” There is no contradiction. Mark focuses on the actual ingredient (“Myrrh”), while Matthew emphasizes the bitterness of the taste (“gall”). As soon as Jesus tastes this bitter concoction (Matthew 27:34), He refuses it. He is to suffer the fullness of our punishment, and He chooses to do so without any mitigation. He also fulfills the prophecy of Psalm 69:21: “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” It is hard to read the account of Jesus’ death on the Cross. However, when we do, we find that each word in each sentence is significant and builds up our common faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ.