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.)
When the Jewish Sabbath concluded, we find Jesus still at Peter’s house in Capernaum of Galilee: “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto Him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils [demons]. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils [demons]; and suffered not the devils [demons] to speak, because they knew Him” (Mark 1:32-34). According to Jewish reckoning, a new day started at sundown. Because the legalistic religious leaders in Israel at that time interpreted the Law to mean that no burdens could be carried on the Sabbath – not even desperately ill people! – the people waited until it was no longer officially the Sabbath to bring needy people to Him for healing. We can scarcely imagine the excitement that spread through Capernaum that day and the eager anticipation that burst forth as soon as “the sun did set.” Families dealing with the chronic illness of loved ones had likely lost hope of any positive changes. Each day was a challenge, with physical poverty looming behind the ongoing emotional stress of seeing a parent, spouse, child, or grandchild suffer. Caregivers struggle constantly: we do not want our wards to die, but we also do not want to die first and leave them without the care that they are used to and need. This human dilemma faced all of these people who “brought” others to Jesus. Only He could offer a solution that swept away all of these very real concerns. Only this unchanging Savior can give each one of us what we most need today and forever – eternal salvation through a simple trust in Him.