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.)
We return to the account of Jesus’ brief ministry on the east side of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee. Mark 5:10-15 records, “And he [the demon-possessed man] besought Him much that He would not send them [the demons] out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils [demons] besought Him, saying, ‘Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.’ And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.” Why did Jesus perform this miracle in such an unusual manner? First, any miracle is by definition unusual. Second, this afflicted man desperately needed help, and Jesus provided complete healing – let us not lose sight of this central fact. Third, the destruction of the pigs was a clear statement of the value of one human soul. For those who carelessly accuse Jesus of callous cruelty, let us remember that these hogs were being raised for slaughter. Fourth, the stampeding swine created a visual sermon that could not be forgotten by those who observed it nor by those who heard the story of it. Our Lord is always doing many things; and all of them, like Him, are good.