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 Mark 14:26: “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” Jesus and His disciples sang Psalms 115-117 during the Passover meal which became the basis for our Communion service. They close their worship with Psalm 118. As they are singing, the disciples are being reminded of Jesus’ fulfillment of this Messianic Psalm. For example, verses 22-23 say, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” Just days before the Passover, Jesus had directly applied these verses to Himself and to the religious leaders’ rejection of Him (Matthew 21:42-46). Similarly, the Passover pilgrims had quoted verses 25-26a: “Save now, I beseech Thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD.” Again, just days before the Passover, these prophetic words were applied to Jesus in His entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9). Thus, Jesus continues to teach His closest followers right up to the moment of His death on the Cross. Clearly, we need our Lord’s constant instruction through His Word in order to better understand Him and to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18a).