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 is authoritative. It is an overwhelming chapter. However, we must recognize that His authority is not a negative, arbitrary exercise of despotic power, as we frequently see from governments around the world, including – sadly, increasingly – our own. Verse 1 reminds us that Jesus is “the Lamb,” as does verse 16. This designation points us to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sins. He died not only for those who believe in Him for salvation but also for those who recklessly refuse to believe and instead opt for “the wrath of the Lamb” (verse 16). As “the Lamb,” Jesus fulfills the typology of the Old Testament: “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 4:7b). Through this self-sacrifice, Jesus uses His authority to offer each one of us His best – mercy, grace, peace, righteousness, life eternal in heaven. Perhaps this devotional is a bit unusual for Thanksgiving Day, when we generally partake of turkey, not lamb. However, if our faith is in Jesus, we can be thankful that we will not pass through the judgments of Revelation 6 – nor through the even greater judgment to come.