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 3:14-15 introduces the calling by Jesus of His closest followers, the Apostles: “And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils [demons].” These men (listed in verses 16-19) had a special mission for a specific period of time, but there is one key principle that is applicable for all believers: Jesus stated “that they should be with Him.” Implicit in this ordination is that Jesus would be with them, for logic dictates that if they are “with Him” that He must also be with them. The physical closeness that existed then obviously does not exist today. However, the promises of God are just as real now, including Hebrews 13:5b-6: “He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ So that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.’” Thus, like the Apostles, we are called to be part of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus could have chosen another method of spreading His message, and He also could have chosen different messengers. Instead, He divinely decided to include each one of us. It is a high and holy calling.