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.)
Philippians 2:5-11 is a classic statement of the awe-inspiring humility of Jesus. Verse 7a says that He “made Himself of no reputation.” Literally, this sentence says that Jesus “emptied Himself.” Certainly Jesus retained His full deity on earth, for God cannot cease to be God. This emptying, then, did not impact the divine nature of Jesus. Rather, it meant that He voluntarily set aside the full exercise of His divine rights. A fine example of this humble emptying is found in Luke 8:43-48. A woman touched Jesus and was healed; in verse 45, He asked, “Who touched me?” Jesus retained His omniscience and thus knew all things, including who had touched Him. In fact, He knew everything about this lady. He chose not to speak all that He knew, for He was drawing this woman forward to elicit a response of faith. She needed physical healing; even more, she needed spiritual healing. Jesus, fully aware of her greater need for forgiveness and salvation, was able to assure her that she was “whole” (verse 48), that both physical and spiritual needs had been met. Only God knows these things, and only God can give this absolute assurance. Jesus, God the Son, did exactly what this suffering woman most needed.