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.)
In this wide and wicked world of woe, Jesus is a sanctuary. The book of Isaiah is clearly Messianic, pointing us to the promised Savior. For example, Isaiah 7:14 says that this Messiah would be born of a “virgin” and would be called “Immanual”; Matthew 1:23 records the fulfillment of this prophecy. Another example is Isaiah 9:6, which Handel used in his famous oratorio Messiah. Right in the middle of these two examples is Isaiah 8:13-14: “Sanctify the LORD of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel; for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The word “sanctify” means to set apart as holy; in this context, it means that we must make a definite decision regarding Jesus, Who is holy. Note the choice here: the Lord can be our sanctuary, or He can be the exact opposite. Jesus does not change (Hebrews 13:8): He does not shift from being a sanctuary to being a stumbling block or a snare. No, Jesus cannot change. The only alteration is in us. In other words, how will we view Jesus? How will we interact with Him? The eternal goodness of God is clearly displayed here, for we are given the specific information and the powerful contrast that we require to make an informed, intelligent decision. May each of us be wise and choose the sanctuary – really, the Sanctuary – that we desperately need.