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 9:14-15 records Jesus’ return from the Mount of Transfiguration: “And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed, and running to Him saluted [greeted] Him.” The contrast between the religious elites and those interested in the truth about the Messiah continues to be a major part of the Gospel of Mark. The “scribes” were religious scholars (they would have viewed themselves as experts); they were often in cahoots with the powerful and legalistic Pharisees. They were “questioning with” the nine disciples who had remained behind; the argumentative scribes were being critical of these followers of Jesus. The people though, were clearly happy to see Jesus, “running to Him” in genuine excitement; they were open to what Jesus was going to do. A good application for us is to realize that an aggressive and argumentative attitude is likely to prevent us from seeing the truth. Instead, let us joyfully run to Jesus, Who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).