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.)
We return to the short statement of fact in Mark 14:46: “And they laid their hands on Him, and took Him.” Yesterday, we touched upon what immediately precedes this arrest. John 18:1-9 includes Jesus’ twofold self-revelation: “I am He” (verses 5, 8). The word “He” is in italics in the King James Version, indicating that it is not in the original Greek manuscripts but was supplied by the translators. What Jesus is literally saying is theologically significant: “I am” is the equivalent of “YAHWEH” in the Old Testament (translated “LORD” in the KJV and some other versions). Thus, Jesus is claiming to be fully God, as He did previously in His “I am” statements in John 6:35, 48, 51; 8:12, 58; 9:5; 10:7, 8, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; and 15:1, 5. It is possible that a few Roman soldiers were sent out with Judas (the Romans often kept a close watch on the activities of the Jewish leaders, especially during the feasts when the population in Jerusalem dramatically increased and concerns about rebellion intensified). However, if not all of the people present were Jewish, most of them were. Thus, they would understand the significance of Jesus’ simple words, particularly in conjunction with His display of divine power (verse 6). While these men are reaching out to seize Jesus, He is reaching out to save them. Such is the great grace of our Savior.