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.)
A divine outline of Jesus’ preaching is found in Mark 1:14-15: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.’” Jesus was proclaiming (the meaning of “preaching”) the need to “repent,” to turn from sin to the Savior, and to “believe the gospel.” The word “gospel” means “good news,” and there is no greater good news. Central to this message is “the kingdom of God.” Ultimately and eternally, this kingdom is heaven, the immediate residence of God and the future home of all believers. In the context of Jesus’ preaching, it was also a reference to the literal presence of the “KING OF KINGS” (Revelation 19:16b) on earth; “the kingdom of God” was physically “at hand” in the person of God the Son. His proclamation thus includes an absolute claim of full deity. Only God Himself can be the Savior. This truth is at the very heart of “the gospel.”