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.)
Consistent with the promise of Matthew 28:20b, Revelation 14:1 records the presence of Jesus with believers: “And I looked, and, lo, [the] Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” The designation “Lamb” is frequently employed in Revelation to refer to Jesus. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8c), and His sacrificial atonement for our benefit and in our places is the basis for our forgiveness and our eternal relationship with Him. The descriptions of the forces of evil, including “dragon” and “beast,” are revelatory of the inhumane attitudes and actions of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet. The contrast is compelling. A simple application for us as Christians is that we bear the name of Christ and should increasingly give evidence of His gentle power in our lives. The words of a hymn are appropriate for us: “The world behind me, the cross before me – no turning back, no turning back!”