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.)
What we call Good Friday is called by other names by believers in other areas of the world. These include the Day of the Lord’s Passion, the Passion of the Cross, and Long Friday. Indeed, it was a long day for our Savior. Even before His six hours of overwhelming physical suffering on the Cross, Jesus had been beaten and whipped (and a Roman whipping was sometimes fatal). The last three hours on the Cross intensified His agony, for it was then that He took into His very being the sins of the world and experienced an unexplainable separation from God the Father. Mark 15:33 records, “And when the sixth hour [noon] was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour [3:00 P.M.].” That darkness was ours, but not even the accumulated sins of billions of people could ultimately mask the saving light of the Savior. Jesus is “the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). In our present darkness, His living light shines, attracting us to Him and His salvation. Yes, it was a long day, but eternity is longer. May each of us flee eternal darkness and run into the everlasting light of Jesus. We are safe and secure and saved there with Him.