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.)
Mark 10:45 is the theme of this Gospel and of the Gospel ministry of Jesus: “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus tells us here that He was born as a baby in order to die as a man. He came to serve (the meaning of “minister”) in ways that no one else could possibly aspire to or attain. By becoming our perfect substitute on the Cross, He initiated the eternal plan of everlasting salvation. Hebrews 2:10 comments cogently on this point: “For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.” It is logical that our Savior God Who has created all things would also create salvation, and He has. The word “Captain” means “Author” or “Pioneer,” indicating that Jesus, God the Son, is the Person of the Triune Godhead Who inaugurates our salvation. As God, He has always been “perfect” and ever will be. However, Jesus was not our “perfect” Savior until He actually accomplished the “suffering” of the Cross – that is, until He died both physically and spiritually, “suffering” the fullness of the punishment that our sin merits. Our sin broke the relationship with God, Who is wholly holy, and we have no means to mend that ruptured relationship. Instead, Jesus, the wronged party, restored the relationship by taking our wrongs into His very being. His holiness overwhelmed our unholiness, making salvation available to all. May we receive His gift of life eternal in heaven with Him by trusting in Him, and may we rejoice in this everlasting relationship.