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.)
Mark 9:10-11 shows the continued confusion of Jesus’ closest disciples: “And they kept that saying [the Son of man rising from the dead – see verse 9] with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked Him, saying, ‘Why say the scribes that Elias [Elijah] must first come?’” Although the three disciples were unable to quickly understand Jesus’ teaching, at least they were thinking and asking questions. Their reasoning was sensible. Malachi 4:5-6a predicted, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” They had just seen Elijah. Thus, they wondered why the Messiah had to die if His forerunner was to “turn the heart” of Israel back to God. As I have said and written before, asking questions of God is a good thing, but questioning Him and His goodness is a bad thing. Such a critical attitude is presumption, for who are we to try to teach God? His warning to Job is also meant for us: “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it” (40:2). I would prefer not to have to answer that divine query, and I am sure we are all in agreement on that point. The legitimate question of the disciples is quickly and thoroughly answered by Jesus in verses 12-13, as we will study tomorrow – unless, of course, He comes for us in the clouds before then (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).