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 have been considering the steadfastness of Jesus, for Luke 9:51 says that “when the time was come that he should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Was the way of Jesus the easiest one? Certainly not – no harder path can be imagined. Was His way the best? Obviously, yes. When Jesus did enter Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry, some of the people hoped that He had come to be king (Luke 19:37-38). Jesus would have been a great king, ruling with real justice. Had He set Himself up as king, that would have been a good thing for the citizens of Jerusalem, and it would have been the easiest way for Jesus. It would have been the easiest – but not the best, for it would not have transformed eternity, would not have provided forgiveness and salvation. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus “endured the Cross.” We do not endure easy things; no, we enjoy them. The strong steadfastness of Jesus endured the very worst to give us the very best. May His reliable resolution steady and strengthen our steadfastness.