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 abuse of Jesus continues unabated: “And they that passed by railed on Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Ah, Thou [Who] destroyest the temple, and buildeth it in three days, save Thyself, and come down from the cross.’ Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’ And they that were crucified with Him reviled Him’” (Mark 15:29-32). The “chief priests” were usually Sadducees; the “scribes” were primarily Pharisees. Thus, the religious leaders in general are acting here like cruel children on a playground instead of displaying maturity and dignity. They also are fulfilling Psalm 22:6-8, a Messianic Psalm that these religious leaders should have known well: “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the hand, saying, ‘He trusted on the LORD that He would deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.’” It is not bad enough for sinful men that Jesus is dying; no, sinful men need to heap abuse on the dying Savior. Their base behavior reveals man’s lostness, and their angry attempt to dictate what He should do (“descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe”) demonstrates that they are not really interested in Who He is and what He is actually doing. Any attempt to manipulate God must fail, for He is unchanging. Let us adore His blessed constancy and never seek to instruct Him or challenge Him.