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 records the testing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: “And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted [tested] of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto Him.” It is tempting to read this account and wonder why it had to take place. Jesus had just been introduced to the Israeli public – a deeply interested Israeli public. John the Baptist, who was at the height of his popularity (verse 5), had directed all attention to Jesus (verses 7-8). Even more importantly, God the Father had spoken His approval from heaven (verse 11) and God the Holy Spirit had visibly demonstrated His presence with God the Son (verse 10). What an opportunity for Him to immediately begin preaching! Instead, He “immediately” went into “the wilderness.” We are reminded that the plans of God do not usually coincide with ours. Isaiah 55:8 states, “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ saith the LORD.” The thoughtful Christian, then, will always be ready to be instructed by God’s “thoughts” as He reveals them to us in His Word.