Friday – April 2, 2021

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.)

We return to Psalm 110:4 today: “The LORD hath sworn and will not repent, ‘Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizadek.’” Melchizadek was the priest of Salem (Jerusalem) in Abraham’s day (Genesis 14:18-20). He was the true priest of “the Most High God”; moreover, he was also a king. His combination of priesthood and kingship prefigured the work of Jesus, as we read in Hebrews 7:17 and 10:11-13. The sacrificial work of Jesus was, of course, greater than that of Melchizadek. Jesus sacrificed just once (on His Cross) and reigns not only over Jerusalem (where He was crucified!) but over everything – and not just for a time but for all time. The attractive beauty of Jesus is especially presented in the fact that He sacrificed Himself. Yes, He sacrificed Himself for us, for me, for you. There is nothing as stunningly beautiful as His self-sacrifice, His effectual self-sacrifice, His effectual and eternal self-sacrifice.