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.)
Let us consider one final thought from Mark 2:1-12, which we studied a bit last week. This passage recounts the healing by Jesus of a paralyzed man and the immediate opposition of the ruling religious experts. Jesus stated clearly, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or to say, ‘Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?’ But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, ‘Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way unto thine house’” (verses 8b-11). The man’s instantaneous healing was the irrefutable proof that Jesus’ Messianic claim to be “the Son of man” was true, for a mere man cannot heal and forgive sins. Jesus spoke to these doubters and showed them that His words had power for great good. What more could He do to convince them? In one sense, these religious leaders were the real paralytics. They were seated comfortably, complacently smug in their self-righteousness, but they were sinners in need of spiritual healing, of salvation. If the man who was healed lived to be an elderly man, his strength would undoubtedly have declined. He might even have become bed-ridden again. However, Jesus had done more than heal this man’s paralyzed body; He had healed this man’s paralyzed soul. His soul would never weaken and wither, for he was healed spiritually forever. May each of us be certain that we have responded to the kind call of Christ Jesus and entered into His eternal promise: “Ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29d).