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 20:4-6 twice speaks of “the first resurrection” to distinguish the resurrection at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom from the one at the end of that period of “a thousand years” (see verses 11-15, which we will study in detail later). The first resurrection chronologically was that of Jesus; His Resurrection is the basis for all other resurrections, and thus it is also first in its importance. Another resurrection that has already occurred is found in Matthew 27:52-53: “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” It is not surprising that the monumental moment of the Resurrection would be accompanied by such an exceptional event. Furthermore, we remember that Jesus promised to fulfill the entire Old Testament: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, ‘Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle [the very smallest parts of the Hebrew alphabet] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled’” (Matthew 5:17-18). Part of the Old Testament teaching concerns the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-14), which celebrated God’s goodness and consecrated the entire upcoming harvest to Him. As we read yesterday, I Corinthians 15:20 applies this imagery to Jesus: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Jesus precisely fulfills the Old Testament typology of the Feast of Firstfruits, for the offering was a handful of grain, not just one stalk. The “many” who were resurrected completed the typology and encourages us that God’s great harvest of souls is ongoing and growing.