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 3:13 says of Jesus, “And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him.” Jesus’ example of seeking solitude is an endorsement of times of rest and refreshment. The parallel account in Luke 6 adds a crucial detail: “He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (verse 12b). Since our sinless Savior prayed so frequently and fervently to God the Father, how much more should we as sinners seek solace and strength through supplication! We are busy people, so busy that we need to spend time in prayer. Jesus, fully God, prayed; we, fully frail and feeble, must pray. In his poem “The Prodigal Son,” James Weldon Johnson wrote the following insightful lines:
“Young man –
Young man –
You’re never lonesome in Babylon.
You can always join a crowd in Babylon.
Young man –
Young man –
You can never be alone in Babylon,
Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.
You can never find a place, a lonesome place,
A lonesome place to go down on your knees,
And talk with your God, in Babylon.
You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.”
May we eschew the worldliness of Babylon and choose the peace of prayer, “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7a).