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.)
Jesus directly answered His disciples’ astonished query of Mark 10:26b (“Who then can be saved?”) in verse 27: “And Jesus looking upon them saith, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.’” Wealth cannot save even one; as an old Gospel song says, “My friend, it won’t save your poor, wicked soul.” In fact, “with men” salvation “is impossible.” Good works, pilgrimages, repetitive prayers, self-denial – none of these get us even one half-step closer to heaven. Jesus’ radical teaching is elegant in its simplicity: we can do nothing, but God can do anything (anything that is good and thus consistent with His unchanging character, that is). In fact, He has done everything that could possibly (and impossibly) be done to provide for our salvation. The important thing in life is not wealth; the important thing is the impossible thing – everlasting life through faith in Jesus and in His finished work. In this sense, each Christian is a living impossibility, an eternally living impossibility, all made possible by the Savior.