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 response to Jesus’ healing of a demon-possessed man is found in Mark 1:27-28: “And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.’ And immediately His fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.” It is interesting and compelling that when people saw and heard Jesus their first impulse was to recognize that He was worthy of attention. Problems arose when jealous religious leaders began to attack Him and intimidate the people who were interested in Him. Such opposition continues today, often from intellectual elites who are so narrow in their outlook that they are strict materialists, believing in the physical world only. This intolerant philosophy cannot explain the most basic questions. From where did the material of the universe come? How do we explain undeniably non-material items such as numbers? What is the explanation for the precise fulfillment of detailed prophecy in Scripture? These and many other questions (and their Biblical answers) have merit and point us beyond the narrow-minded naysayers to Jesus. He is the “authority” on all of these issues.