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 Mark 13:15-18, Jesus continues His lengthy instruction regarding the future: “And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: and let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.” The pernicious power of the Antichrist will extend beyond the desecration of the rebuilt Temple (verse 14) to directly impact all of the inhabitants of Israel. Many homes in that part of the world have flat roofs surrounded by parapets and accessed by external stairways. This configuration increases available living space much as large patios and decks function in our country, but the milder Mediterranean climate there leads to year-round usage. A modern cynic might scoff at people being in the fields and fleeing from them. However, agriculture is still a major part of Israel’s economy and supplies large quantities of food to world markets, especially in Europe. Furthermore, the words of Jesus had to make sense to the people of that era. If He had spoken about fleeing from office buildings, power plants, department stores, or factories, His words would have been incomprehensible to first-century people. One of the rules of hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation) is that we must interpret historically; that is, we must carefully consider what a verse or passage would have meant to the original listeners or readers. The mention of the plight of pregnant women and of women with small children is poignant. The reference to “winter” does not mean that these events will occur during the winter months in Israel; rather, it recognizes the harder reality of fleeing at that time, when the temperature at night often drops rapidly. Jesus’ detail is, of course, prophetic, but it also reveals the solicitude of our Savior. He truly cares about these future hardships – and about our current difficulties, as well.