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.)
After Jesus quickly and compassionately healed a leper, He spoke surprising words to this newly healthy man: “And He straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; and saith unto him, ‘See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.’ But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to Him from every quarter” (Mark 1:43-45). To us, Jesus’ command might seem unusual, but He always had (and has) the best of reasons for His actions. First, He always fulfilled the Old Testament Law (Matthew 5:17-18); thus, he directed this former leper to also fulfill the Levitical laws concerning leprosy (Leviticus 14:4-32). Second, Jesus specifically wanted this healing to be “a testimony” to the religious establishment at Jerusalem. Some of these priests were sincere in their faith (Luke 1:5-10) and believed the Old Testament promise of a Messiah. Others were worldly and needed to be jolted out of their complacent ritual. Third, Jesus did not want people to follow Him for the wrong reasons (like the expectation of miracles on demand). The sad statement of John 6:66 confirms that far too many followed Him until He spoke of commitment: “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” An application for us is to simply trust Jesus in all that He says. We do not understand all things, but we can be certain that He does.