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.)
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) reveals that He loves us and that His love overcomes the pernicious hatred of Satan. We return to Revelation 1:5b, which we studied a couple of weeks ago: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” We read yesterday that “the prince of this world [Satan] is cast out” (John 12:31). This defeat of Satan and his hatred occurred at the Cross, where Jesus “washed us from our sins in His own blood.” This demonstrated love cannot be undone: it is “for ever and ever” (Revelation 1:7). Yes, Satan’s hatred is real. If Satan and his miserable minions in government and in media cannot shut us up in prison (like the Apostle John), they will strive to shut us up. The martyrdom of Christians and the ongoing persecution and marginalization of believers are modern examples of Satan’s abiding hatred. However, Jesus has “washed us”; that is, He has freed us, released us from Satan’s imprisonment. Love is stronger than hatred; Jesus is far mightier than Satan. Thus, we can be certain that the love of Jesus thwarts the hatred of Satan.