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 historical detail of the Bible is on full display in Mark 1:6: “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle [belt] of a skin about his loins, and he did eat locusts and honey.” This verse gives us a visual introduction to John the Baptist. He was not making a fashion statement, and he was not showing off. His camel’s hair robe was the kind worn by the very poor; his leather belt was a simple and necessary accessory. His diet was not too appetizing, by our standards. Locusts are a good source of protein, and honey is a good energy source (and perhaps helped to wash away the taste of the locusts). By adopting these habits, John was acting like the prophet Elijah. John knew exactly what he was doing. His ministry was an outright fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 (right at the end of the Old Testament) and an outright repudiation of the materialism and godlessness of h is day. There was plenty of religion then, but very little faith existed. John had to be different; he had to be distinctive. He willingly chose this austere way of life that he might fulfill verse 3: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’” Each detail of Scripture matters; together, these details provide overwhelming evidence for the veracity of the Word of God and “of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (verse 1).