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.)
After Jesus’ brief time alone on the Sea of Galilee with His closest disciples and His instruction to them regarding the danger of the unbelief of the Pharisees (Mark 8:14-21), He continued His public ministry: “And He cometh to Bethsaida: and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him” (verse 22). We should all be blessed by friends such as these. Perhaps these caring acquaintances had heard Jesus speak or even had seen Him heal others, for He had been in Bethsaida, a town on the north shore of Galilee, previously (Mark 6:45-56) and had fed thousands nearby (Luke 9:10). These men considered their friend’s great need and took the time to bring him to Jesus. Once there, they “besought” Him for healing; this is a strong word, indicating that they were pleading with Jesus, begging Him with fervor. We can admire the intensity of their faith, but their faith was somewhat imperfect. They thought that Jesus had to “touch” their friend in order to heal him, but Jesus had healed others over distance. Still, the object of their faith – Jesus Christ, the Messiah – was the correct one, and He would correct their misunderstanding as He healed their friend.