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 11:1 records the beginning of the Triumphal Entry of Jesus: “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sendeth forth two of His disciples.” The destination is itself a triumph, for Jesus knew exactly what would take place there. He had spoken in detail of His death (Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; 10:32-34) and marched staunchly and steadfastly to Jerusalem. He was achieving His stated purpose and goal. Because He did precisely what He had stated He would do, we have certainty in Him: “Being confident of this very thing, that He [Who] hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Our journey is not to Jerusalem, nor does it end in the Cross; but our eternal destination is assured. The meticulous commentator Matthew Henry, writing in the early 1700’s pithily concluded, “The world is our passage but not our portion.” The great 1800’s preacher Charles Spurgeon cogently commented, “We are simply passing through this world and should bless it in our transit but never yoke ourselves to its affairs.” Decades ago, I read an account of a rural Christian who had always wanted to visit New York City. He was finally able to go there and enjoyed the visit. However, when back home, he prayed, “Thank you, Lord, for letting me see New York. And most of all I thank you that I didn’t see anything that I wanted!” For each Christian, the ultimate triumph is our destination in heaven, welcomed by our Lord and Savior.