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.)
In response to Jesus’ answer regarding “the commandments” (Mark 10:10), the rich young ruler asserted his perfection: “And he answered and said unto Him, ‘Master, all these have I observed from my youth’” (verse 20). Some have suggested that he had actually kept all of the rules externally, but “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). His self-confident statement of sinlessness is in itself a sin, violating many verses, including Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Overweening pride beset this man. As a ruler (Luke 18:18), he was a religious leader, at least in a synagogue, perhaps in the Sanhedrin, the seventy-person council that exercised enormous power throughout Judaism. Given the dominant influence of the self-righteous Pharisees, it is no surprise that an educated, wealthy man would be so self-assured. Still, Jesus converses with him, presenting the insight and instruction that all of us need. His persistent truth strips away any feeble façade that we construct and shows us that we need a Savior.