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.)
Mark 6:47-48a-b continues the account following Jesus’ miraculous provision for thousands of hungry people: “And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and He alone on the land. And He saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them.” It is reassuring to us that Jesus “saw them.” As fully God, He was fully aware of their movements and thus did not need to view them physically through the darkened miles. This storm did not surprise Jesus; nothing does, and furthermore verse 45 states that He “constrained” them to go forth. Thus, the coming storm was exactly where He wanted them to be and where they needed to be. Still, though, they missed Jesus. In an earlier tempest (Mark 4:35-41), He had been in one of the boats with them. Now, He was not there. Probably all of us have been in circumstances that were uncomfortable. For example, although I enjoyed receiving a college education, I did not like being away from home and especially away from the young woman who would become my old lady. For me, this experience was not a storm of discipline (think Jonah) but a storm of personal growth as I learned to live out my faith in a godless environment. This actual storm for the disciples thus was an opportunity, not an obstacle, as they would soon learn.