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.)
Before we move to Mark 14:53, let us summarize a bit by contrasting Jesus’ actions and those of His closest followers. The disciples consistently demonstrate real weakness. Their eyes are so weak that they cannot keep them open to pray: “Their eyes were heavy” (verse 40). Their lips are weak, bragging that they would “not deny Thee in any wise” (verse 31). Their hands are so weak that they had to clasp swords (verse 47) instead of clasping them in prayer. They have weak feet: “And they all forsook Him, and fled” (verse 50); they show good foot speed, but winning the race requires running in the right direction. We are weak, but Romans 5:6 gives us great encouragement: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Unlike the feeble disciples, Jesus demonstrates real strength to save us. His strong eyes are closed in prayer (verses 35-41a). He is lying prostrate on the ground praying while His followers sleep nearby. His lips are strong, speaking only the truth, including truth that no one wants to hear, truth about our failure (verse 27, 30). His strong lips also utter a simple statement of submission: “Nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt” (verse 36b). His hands are stronger than the hands that hold sharp swords, for He heals Malchus: Jesus “touched his ear, and healed him” (Luke 22:51). His strong feet go to meet Judas and the mob: “Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth Me is at hand” (verse 42). He continues to move in the right direction – toward the Cross. May we acknowledge our inherent weakness – and collapse into the strength of Jesus.