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.)
As soon as Matthew decided to respond to the call of Jesus, he invited others to his home to meet Jesus: “And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him” (Mark 2:15). Luke 5:29 calls this gathering “a great feast.” Clearly, Matthew had grown very wealthy through his years of collecting Roman taxes, for he had a large house and the wherewithal to provide for “a great company” (also Luke 5:29). His acquaintances were notorious, but Matthew did not turn his back on them. Rather, he did the very best thing that he could do for them: he gave them the opportunity to meet Jesus. I once read a study that concluded that, on average, new Christians have about a year to influence non-Christian friends. Over this relatively short time, the Christian’s different way of living will inexorably lead to a drawing apart. Matthew did not have this statistical information, but his personal experience with Jesus was so profoundly and dynamically transformational that he wanted other tax collectors (“publicans”) and outcasts of society (“sinners”) to choose to follow Jesus. His immediate concern for these unsaved folks is a compelling example for each of us.