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 the subject of healing, for Revelation 21:4 speaks of the end of “pain.” God has revealed Himself as YAHWEH-rapha, “the LORD [Who] healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). Unfortunately, some erroneously have speculated that I Peter 2:24 ensures physical healing (with the cruel caveat, of course, “if you have enough faith”). This verse says of Jesus, “Who His own self bare our sin in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed.” Could this verse possibly refer to bodily healing? No. First, the context is overtly referring to spiritual healing, focusing on the efficacy of Christ’s death on the Cross in dealing with our “sins” and bringing in “righteousness.” Second, verse 21 specifically calls Jesus our “example.” Was Jesus healed on the Cross? Was He delivered miraculously from the intense physical suffering associated with crucifixion? No, and no. He died an excruciating death, a very real and extraordinarily painful death. He died to deliver us from spiritual death (for physical death awaits us – “It is appointed unto men once to die” – Hebrews 9:27a) unto spiritual life. In this sense, we are always being healed, and therefore we should be a people of praise and thanksgiving – even if we continue to hurt physically.