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.)
Revelation 6 reveals that Jesus, “the Lamb” (verse 1), is authoritative over all things, including world leaders (verses 1-2) and war (verses 3-4). Furthermore, He is authoritative over famine: “And when He had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast [angel] say, ‘Come and see.’ And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts [angels] say, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine’” (verses 5-6). This distressing word picture indicates a paucity of basic food items such that prices have risen 800%. Why does Jesus permit this famine during the end times, in what is called the Tribulation? The famine in the time of Elijah (I Kings 17-18) is instructive: it was a result of gross idolatry (see the clear warnings of Deuteronomy 28:15, 23-24). Certainly the worship of the Antichrist falls into the same category. Amos 8:11 tells us that spiritual famine precedes physical famine: “’Behold, the day come,’ saith the Lord GOD, ‘that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” If we will not listen to God the Savior, we will perish eternally. The famine of the Tribulation, then, is just one more extreme attempt by Jesus to draw people to Himself forever.