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.)
Last week, we found from Matthew 11:28-29 that Jesus does not exhaust us but instead offers us rest: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The very fact that this offer of rest is necessary points to our condition of restlessness, a condition that Jesus fully understands. Our “labour” is hard work that causes weariness. In the spiritual realm, we can become restless in this “labour” because we are aware – increasingly aware as we mature – that we still fail to meet God’s standards. “Heavy laden” carries the same thought. Why are we so frequently restless in our lives? Three reasons (of many) come quickly to mind. First, the sinful state of man separates us from Jesus and thus from His rest. Our sin is part of that distance, but the sin of others intruding into our lives also causes problems. Second, we might not have actually “come” to Jesus for salvation; each one of us must, for salvation is through Him alone (Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”). Third, we may not be following the gracious requirements that Jesus established in this passage. We will consider this last point in the next three days. For today, let us be grateful that Jesus understands our restlessness and does not add to it. Rather, He offers us exactly what we need – His rest.