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 have seen from II Peter 3:8-9 that, although Jesus is above and outside time, He has created time, intervenes in time, and has a timetable for His return. He is “longsuffering,” and the only reasonable response is “repentance.” We must all repent because we possess a sin nature which we choose to exercise, sometimes quite vigorously. The doctrine of original sin is not an abstract, theoretical teaching. Adam rebelled against God by doing the one thing that God graciously had forbidden him (Genesis 2:17). Adam already knew good; he did not need “the knowledge of good and evil.” However, Satan presented the experiential acquisition of this knowledge as a gain (Genesis 3:1-6). Of course, it was a loss only. I think of the warning from an old Gospel song: “If you let the Devil ride, he’s only going to want to drive.” Immediately , though, God provided the opportunity for repentance, an offer that included sacrifice (Genesis 3:21). This animal sacrifice prefigured the later and far greater sacrifice of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, there is suffering in “longsuffering,” the suffering of Jesus on the Cross. He has made the only provision possible for our forgiveness. Our only reasonable response is “repentance”; we must turn to Jesus for His eternal salvation.