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.)
In Mark 12:35b-37a, Jesus deals with the most important issue in life – the identity of the promised Savior: “How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Set Thou on My right hand, till I make Mine enemies Thy footstool.”’ David therefore himself calleth Him Lord; and whence is He then his son?” Jesus is not endeavoring to win a debate here (He has already done that). He is also not asking directly what the people gathered there thought of Him. He was drawing out what they believed from Scripture (including Psalm 110:1, from which He quotes), for He knew that the Scripture would point them to Him. As the “son of David,” Jesus was fully human. As David’s “Lord,” He was and is fully divine. Thus, the Old Testament taught that “Christ” (the Messiah) must be truly human and truly God. The parallel passage in Matthew includes this pointed question from Jesus: “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:42a). Each one of us must make a decision based upon the facts. “The common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:37b), with delight but without conviction and commitment – even though Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy that they claimed to believe. Let us evaluate the ample evidence, reach the only logical conclusion, and trust in Jesus for eternal salvation.