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.)
We return to Mark 14:22-24 and Jesus’ inauguration of the Communion service: “And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is My body.’ And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, ‘This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.’” Another name for this remembrance is the Eucharist, from a Greek word meaning “giving of thanks.” Twice Jesus gives thanks (“blessed” means He gave thanks) in this service which prefigures His death on the Cross. Yes, Jesus is thankful as He contemplates His sacrificial atonement: it was “for the joy that was set before Him” that He “endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2b). Only One Who is fully God could be thankful and joyful in these circumstances. Jesus specifically references His “body,” reminding us that He became fully human in order to be a perfect substitute for us. He also speaks of His “blood,” indicating that He would indeed die for all of us as our substitute. He institutes a “new testament” – a new covenant, a new promise – that is sealed by His death for us, His “shed” blood. Simply and specifically, our Savior states these truths such that we can all understand and all marvel at the absoluteness of His affection and the lavishness of His love.