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.)
Jesus offers everyone the opportunity to know Him; His invitation, like everything else about Him, is impeccable. In John 1:39, He made this simple statement to Andrew and John, disciple of John the Baptist: “Come and see.” This succinct offer is the core of Christianity. First, conversion is not by coercion. False religions try to force people to convert, sometimes by the sword, sometimes by shaming. Jesus makes it clear that the decision to follow Him must be an individual, personal choice. His offer is genuine and must be met with a genuine response. Second, our faith is based on facts. There is no mindless, cultic deception, for Jesus invites us to “see.” He is telling us to evaluate the evidence, to consider everything carefully. Only then can we make the informed, intelligent decision to become disciples (followers) of Jesus. There is no secret knowledge in or initiation into the Christian faith; there is nothing hidden. We “come” to Jesus with eyes wide open, and we “see” that His words and works perfectly match. He can be trusted: “Come and see.”