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 14:17-19 records a sad scene: “And in the evening He cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, ‘Verily I say unto you, “One of you which eateth with Me shall betray Me.”’ And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, “Is it I?’ and another said, ‘Is it I?’” Once again, Jesus reveals to His closest followers His knowledge of all things, His divine omniscience. Judas had gone secretly to the religious leaders to betray Jesus (verse 10), but our Lord was fully aware of all of the evil plotting that was occurring. As Jesus had said in Luke 12:2-3, “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in the closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” All of the disciples had been taught this truth. In some ways, with the exception of lying Judas, the disciples are at their best when they ask Jesus, “Is it I?” Each one recognizes here that he is capable of the darkest of deeds. The solicitous warning of I Corinthians 10-12 is for all of us: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Because eleven of the disciples saw in themselves the possibility of falling into betrayal, they were enabled by the Savior’s strength to stand in loyalty.