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.)
Jesus is authoritative, as revealed in Revelation 6. He has authority over world leaders (verses 1-2), war (verses 3-4), famine (verses 5-6), physical and spiritual death (verses 7-8), martyrdom (verses 9-11), nature (including earthquakes – verse 12a), and cosmic disturbances (verses 12b-14). How does rebellious mankind respond to this authority? “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him [Who] sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” The irony is tragic: these unbelievers will call on “rocks” to crush them rather than be saved by Jesus Christ, the Rock (I Corinthians 10:4). The awesome authority of Jesus will be on full display, and He will be met with stony rejection. Romans 1:18-32 records the sad declension of people who will not receive the good things of God. So hard will their hearts be – harder than flint – that they, “Knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32). May we instead reject unbelief – “the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1) – and flee into the powerful protection of our Savior.