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 7:27-30, Jesus’ response to a desperate woman is initially surprising but spiritually essential: “But Jesus said unto her, ‘Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.’ And she answered and said unto Him, ‘Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.’ And He said unto her, ‘For this saying go thy way; the devil [demon] is gone out of thy daughter.’ And when she was come to her house, she found the devil [demon] gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.” The parallel account in Matthew 15:23 adds the detail that at first Jesus said nothing at all. How intimidating that silence could have been! Yet, she persisted. Jesus persisted, too. His words were intended to elicit a fuller faith from her. We have seen throughout Mark that some were content to receive miracles- but nothing else. It would have been eternally sad if this woman and her daughter shared in a great miracle but did not share in everlasting salvation. Instead, Jesus’ intriguing words invited her to think and ultimately to articulate the spiritual insight that demonstrated genuine belief and trust. It is clear from her quick response that she had been considering deeply the implications of Jesus’ words and works. May each of us follow her effective example.