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 response of Peter to Jesus’ lucid and detailed teaching regarding His coming Crucifixion and Resurrection is, like my wife, stunning: “And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him” (Mark 8:32b). Peter’s objection is natural (rather than spiritual). He had repeatedly seen the power of Jesus Christ displayed in different kinds of miracles, including the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-43). He had just stated the truth that Jesus is God (Mark 8:29). However, he could not reconcile these facts with the clear prediction of His impending death. Where was the power of Jesus in His suffering and dying? How could God – God the Son – die? These are challenging questions – challenging both in the sense of being difficult to understand and in the sense of attacking the authority of Jesus. However, Jesus had already answered these questions. The cross reveals the eternal power of Jesus to save us from our sins. His power of resurrection defeated the last enemy, death (I Corinthians 15:26) – and He had specifically said that He would “after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31f). Those who persist in rejecting the Biblical teaching of the Cross and the Resurrection are continuing “to rebuke” Jesus. In our churches, may we avoid that perilous and pernicious position of pomposity.