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 Jesus and His disciples leave the Upper Room and proceed to the Mount of Olives, Jesus continues to teach them: “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, ‘I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered’” (Mark 14:27). Jesus is quoting from Zechariah 13:7, reminding His disciples and us that He is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-18). He again reveals that He is omniscient; we should marvel at His resolve to proceed to the Cross with the full knowledge of the unprecedented suffering that He would endure. Part of His sorrow was His disciples’ coming failure. They would “be offended”; that is, they would stumble, fall away. His warning is gracious, for they would later remember His prophetic words and be reminded of the Savior’s sovereignty. They would also be reminded that Jesus never abandoned them. Today, we have the same assurance from Him: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5c).