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 interaction of Judas and the religious leaders is recorded simply in Mark 14:10-11: “And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray Him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” Given what the Gospel of Mark has already revealed about the religious rulers, it is no surprise that they are “glad” to receive the help of a traitor in their implacable hatred of Jesus. Such a response is irreligious indeed, but unspiritual people are often gleeful and even giddy when bad things happen to good people. In my lifetime, I have seen the deaths of despots like Mao, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, Yassir Arafat, and Fidel Castro. Even though the people in those dictators’ lands likely benefited from their absences, I did not rejoice in these tyrants’ demises, for God has said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11b). Yet, the “chief priests” were thrilled at the chance to kill the sinless Son of God. As always, let us stand with our Savior God, mourn death, and hope and pray that “the wicked” will repent “and live.”