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.)
Mark 5:21-43 records two miracles by Jesus. The story-within-a-story narration provides a picture of the daily ministry of our Savior. Two general observations come to mind before we begin to consider the specifics. First, His life on earth, like ours, was not linear. He did not move from point A to point B to point C. Real life is more involved than that. For example, often when He taught in parables, He later had to explain them to His disciples. Also, He frequently returned to key teachings. For example, He repeatedly prophesied His death and resurrection. Our lives are non-linear and hectic, even chaotic, at times. Jesus knows by personal experience how challenging our lives can be, and His Word states, “There hath no temptation [testing] taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted [tested] above that ye are able; but will with the temptation [testing] also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13). Second, John 21:25 reminds us that “there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” When we read any account in Scripture, we can be certain that Jesus was doing even more than is recorded. For example, His infinite mind was always at work, and He was also ministering to all people around Him, most of whom are not listed in the Bible because of our inability to comprehend these multiple and simultaneous activities. Because Jesus never changes (Hebrews 13:8), we can be certain that He is doing far more than we can see and understand today.