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.)
Our quite lengthy study of Mark 10:2-12, as well as its connection to the Christmas account, leads to one further thought. Because the care of Jesus, God the Son, was entrusted by God the Father to Joseph and Mary, we see that time spent with family is exceptionally important. From Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt and finally back to Nazareth, this godly couple listened to the Father and protected the Son (Luke 1:26-27, 56; Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:13-23). God the Father could have chosen any means to keep the infant Jesus safe, yet He chose a relatively poor, probably quite young husband and wife for this essential task. Side by side, the couple traveled in unsettled times and to unfamiliar places. When they finally resettled in Nazareth, they would have spent most of their time together (it is likely that Joseph did much of his carpentry work right in their home). They also would have been near their extended families. Most of us have probably spent quite a bit of time with family over the last few days. May we make every effort to continue that trend. Ephesians 5:15-16 pointedly says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” It is instructive that a lengthy section following this command speaks of marriage (5:21-33) and family (6:1-4). Let us then seek to redeem the time by prioritizing our spouses and other family members.