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 was largely rejected by the people of His hometown (Mark 6:1-6a), He left Nazareth: “And He went round about the villages teaching” (verse 6b). We should not interpret Jesus’ actions as abandonment. Context is always important. First, Jesus had preached here previously, about a year before. He was not well received: “And all they in the synagogue, when they had heard these things were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong. But He passing through the midst of them went His way” (Luke 4:28-30). It is remarkable that He came back after the townsfolk had tried to kill Him. His return demonstrates that He does not give up. Second, His family had thought that He was mentally ill with overwork and had sought to bring Him back to Nazareth (Mark 3:21, 31-32) – and after this attempt He eventually and voluntarily returned. As we studied some weeks ago, His mother and siblings finally did believe in Him after He resurrected. Third, some people were healed (verse 5), leaving an irrefutable testimony behind when Jesus traveled elsewhere. Fourth, anyone even slightly interested in Jesus’ ministry could have easily walked to the surrounding “villages” where He was “teaching.” Fifth, as we will see in verses 7-13, Jesus sent forth authorized representatives to go to many places. Thus, Jesus continued to make Himself known in Nazareth, and He continues to make Himself known today.