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 busy ministry of Jesus continued at a fast pace and with breath-taking results: “And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they [the people of this region around Capernaum] knew Him, and ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds [pallets] those that were sick, where they heard He was. And whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole” (Mark 6:53-56). For Jesus, to be is to do; that is, His inherently good nature must break forth into acts of goodness. This ongoing revelation of His character should have prompted all of the people of this region to commit to Him. Many of these folks were direct or indirect beneficiaries of His healing; both those actually healed and their families, friends, and extended communities were blessed. The fact of their overall lack of commitment to Jesus is a sad reminder of how easy it is to slip into a sense of casual entitlement. Instead, may the consistent and persistent goodness of our Savior God be a source of genuine and daily thanksgiving and praise.