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.)
We are quite familiar with the words of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Most of us have likely read the Gospels more than any other portion of Scripture, and nearly every sermon makes at least a reference to Jesus, even if the text of the message is from the Old Testament. Because we know the sayings of Jesus so well, it is possible for us to lose some of the power contained therein. For example, in John 15:16, Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” I am not exaggerating when I say that these words mean everything. The truth is that I can do nothing to save myself; Jesus is holy; I am a sinner; and not only can I not approach Him but, on my own, I will not take even one step in His direction. In simple terms, Jesus chose me because I needed to be chosen. In John 6:44, Jesus stated, “No man can come to Me, except the Father Which hath sent Me draw him.” As Christians, we are not better than anyone else; we are chosen. Romans 5:8 reminds us that “God commendeth [demonstrates] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Let us be filled with wonder that the selection of us by Jesus necessitated His atoning, substitutionary death on the Cross. Yes, Jesus chose us because we needed to be chosen.