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.)
In reviewing Revelation 20, we see that Jesus keeps the books. As the Keeper, He is faithful from the greatest event to the tiniest detail. Nothing escapes His attention, and His attendance upon us never wavers. Furthermore, we find that Jesus’ recordkeeping is fair. Both the “small and great” (Revelation 20:12) are dealt with according to the same standard. I taught school for many years and found that the biggest complaint of the kids was about favoritism. I was never accused of partiality because, as I joked with the kids, I treated them all equally poorly. The matter here, though, is deadly serious. “According to their works” (verses 12, 13), Jesus accurately and fairly judges these unbelievers. The key to understanding this judicial decree is found in verse 15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Because these people refused to repent, their names are not found in “the book of life.” Thus, their “works” remain unforgiven, for these unbelievers have rejected Jesus’ forgiveness. It is not Jesus Who condemns them; they condemn themselves, and Jesus sovereignly proclaims the verdict and ensures the necessary sentence. The Bible is clear: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18). May each of us be certain today of the eternal salvation that is found through faith in Jesus Christ.