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.)
Christians elsewhere in the world have different names for Good Friday, including Long Friday, the Passion of the Cross, and the Day of the Lord’s Passion (the word “passion” is used in Acts 1:3). Our designation focuses on the outcome of Jesus’ death: it was good – the greatest good – for us. Romans 3:10-23 tells us how bad off we are, reaching the undeniable conclusion that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” I remember a dear colleague of mine who relayed a story about a first-grader trying to recite this verse. He got the first part right but closed with “and I’m short.” His recitation was wrong, but his theology was correct. Each one of us needs to acknowledge our spiritual shortness. Then, we can enter into the greatest goodness of all – the eternal salvation that Jesus offers. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Good Friday becomes good when we receive this “gift of God” by trusting in Jesus as Savior. Let each one of us be certain of salvation by calling upon Jesus as Savior. Good Friday will then become Good Forever.