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.)
The disciples had seen that Jesus was frequently rejected, and now they were about to experience at least some rejection personally. Mark 6:10-11 records that Jesus told them, “In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, ‘It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, then for that city.’” This prediction of rejection prepared the disciples so that they would remain undaunted and would press on in their necessary work. The commanded response of shaking the dust off their feet must not be interpreted as a smug, superior, holier-than-thou attitude. Rather, it was a recognized prophetic warning in that culture, a warning about the sad and inevitable consequences of denying the truth. Relatively few chose to trust in Jesus Christ then, and few choose so now (Matthew 20:16b). Because considerable rejection is intrinsic to Christianity, it is frequently frustrating to share the Gospel message. However, the next person may the one who is interested and eventually turns to Jesus. Let us not be discouraged, and let us be faithful in proclaiming the good news of eternal salvation through faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ.