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.)
In our study of Isaiah 59, we have spent more than a week in the morass of mankind’s sin, as detailed in the first fifteen verses. Yesterday, we looked at the first part of verse 16, which tells us bluntly that on our own we have no help and no hope. Even if we stopped there, we would have to admit that God is right (if we are honest at all). However, the passage does not end there, and the promise of the Messiah is presented clearly to us beginning in verse 16b: “Therefore, His [the Father’s] arm brought salvation unto Him [the Son]; and His [the Father’s] righteousness, it sustained Him [Jesus]. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (see verse 21) worked (the meaning of “brought) in perfect harmony to provide salvation from our spiritual death. Specifically, it was the role of the Son to be the Savior. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you hath He quickened [made alive] who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Jesus did what could not be done: He made us alive – alive forever. This is a powerful contrast with other religions, which promise to make people more alive. That is foolishness, for no one can make that which is dead more alive. We must be made alive first! Jesus, Who loves life and gives life, is “the Life” (John 14:6). He gives new life – eternal life – to anyone who will receive it from Him as a gift. May each one of us be certain of this everlasting life that is a certainty through faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ.