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.)
Because Mark is the shortest Gospel, it does not contain some information found in Matthew, Luke, and John. For example, after Peter cut off the ear of a man named Malchus and Jesus healed him (Mark 14:47; John 18:10; Luke 22:51 – we studied these verses Saturday), our Savior says, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take up the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). Violence begets violence, and Jesus desires the end of this vicious cycle. His words, though, do not prohibit what is called just war, which includes the principles of self-defense and of protecting those who are defenseless before evil oppressors. Jesus Himself is presented to us as a conquering hero at the end of the Tribulation: “And I [John] saw heaven opened, and beheld a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11). Verse 15a specifically speaks of a sword: “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations” – the nations that will choose the violence of Satan and the Antichrist. Thus, our Lord will engage in righteous warfare, in this just war. We must be careful not to equate our flawed anger with the perfect anger of our Savior God against all sin. In general, it is wise for us to “put up” our swords. The exceptions must be clear and obvious – defending people in peril, standing against tyranny. We are not to be people of violence, but we are also not to sit idly by and permit violence to reign.