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.)
Jesus closes His teaching on future events in Mark 13:34-37: “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, ‘Watch.’” Jesus uses this simple parable to provide an application for all believers at all times: “Watch.” Only believers who are saved during the Tribulation period and who are not martyred will see the literal return of Jesus to earth, but all believers are commanded to be alert. An example of a lack of alertness is found the same week when Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives to pray. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he said to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death; tarry ye here, and watch” (Mark 14:34). Yet, His close disciples could not stay awake. They missed this singular opportunity to minister to Jesus by supporting Him in solicitous supplication. The failure of these good men is a necessary warning to all of us to remain spiritually alert, especially through prayer.