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.)
Mark 1:12-13 provides information about the testing of Jesus: “And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.” More detail is given in the parallel account of Matthew 4:8-10 regarding a third specific temptation. Verses 8 and 9 record Satan’s devious attempt to subvert Jesus’ ministry: “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, ‘All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.’” Jesus’ rapid response reminds us that there are no spiritual shortcuts: “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve’” (verse 10). Jesus’ quotations, from Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20, direct our attention to the ongoing necessity of daily focusing upon our Lord and not ourselves or anything else. It remains tempting for us to seek the newest fads that promise such things as health, wealth, and great hair; but the discerning Christian discards such shortcuts, knowing that they are actually dead ends. Jesus’ dismissal of Satan is also the dismissal of the next new thing. Let us remain grounded in God’s Word.