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.)
Mark 3:17 tells us that Jesus officially includes Peter as an apostle: “And Simon He surnamed Peter.” Jesus had previously called Peter to follow Him (Mark 1:16-18). Now, He officially ordains him as an apostle. “Simon,” a shortened form of Simeon, was his Jewish name. “Peter” is a Greek name meaning “rock” (Cephas, used in John 1:43, is the Aramaic equivalent). No doubt Jesus was encouraging Peter by this change and preparing him to become a strong leader in the early Church. Jesus saw the raw material in this mercurial man and began a process of refinement. Entire books have been written and many sermons preached about the Apostle Peter, but I will limit myself to this simple thought: Peter was flawed but was also ready to receive correction (see, for example, Matthew 16:21-23; 26:33-35, 69-75; 26:47-54; John 21:15-18). Peter’s last written words to us indicate that he understood the need for ongoing spiritual development: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (II Peter 3:18). This older and wiser Peter understood the necessity for spiritual growth, for none of us are all that we can be. Peter, who had once tried to instruct Jesus, now directs all attention to Him and reminds us that we must strive to become more like Him. We learn from Peter’s progress that our Savior God will continue to refine us also.