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.)
For more than a week, we have been studying the startling speech of Jesus. He spoke in a variety of ways, sometimes emphasizing one type of speech when it was most applicable and most beneficial to the person or group to whom He was speaking. The Apostle Paul followed this model when he wrote in I Corinthians 9:22b, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” Paul was not suggesting that we compromise and lower our standards. Rather, he was following the example of Jesus, Who always spoke the truth and used the words that were most likely to sink in to the hearts of His listeners. For some (not me), the emotional language of love sweeps them away into the arms of Jesus. One former student of mine, a gifted musician, wrote (and writes) Gospel songs. One of her songs uses the line “You’re my hero” to speak of Jesus. Yes, Jesus is my hero, but I would not think to write a song like that. Do I love that Jesus loves me? Yes! Do I enjoy and sing such emotional songs about the love of Jesus? Absolutely! For those of you who listen to my sermons (may God reward you bountifully in eternity), you know that I am just not a particularly emotional person. Many people are strongly emotional, though, and Jesus knows and speaks passionately of His love for us. Read Zephaniah 3:17, and weep … or not. His words are true either way.