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.)
Jesus continues to instruct His disciples about future events: “Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death” (Mark 13:12). This statement of fact is one of the most distressing in the Bible. Family difficulties are nothing new (Cain’s murder of his brother Abel comes immediately to mind – see Genesis 4:1-12), but Jesus prophesies that the intensity of these conflicts will increase and that they will involve the pernicious power of corrupt government. Turning in family members who disagreed with governmental policies was common in Communist regimes (and, sadly, still occurs). Such denunciations in Islamist dictatorships occur with regularity around the world today. Other types of totalitarian governments also encourage this vile behavior. In the United States, we have not been subjected to this type of deadly despotism. However, in the manufactured coronavirus panic (if you are wondering if manufactured modifies coronavirus or panic, the answer is both), leftist leaders in certain states established so-called tip lines – really, rat lines – so that fearful followers of oppressive autocrats could curry favor and help to destroy basic freedoms. Christians are not called to be toadies to tyrants, nor are we called to turn on our families. Jesus’ predictions will continue to come true, but woe to him who is part of the fulfillment of wickedness.