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.)
Revelation 20:9 speaks of “the beloved city” of Jerusalem. This designation reminds us that this city will be the capital of Jesus’ reign on earth during the Millennial Kingdom, in fulfillment of Isaiah 2:1-4. This passage says of Jesus that in “Jerusalem” (verse 3) “He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (verse 4). Psalm 78:68 calls Jerusalem “the mount Zion which He loved,” and Psalm 87:2-3 says, “The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.” Psalm 48:1-2 lauds Jerusalem and points to the reign of Jesus: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” A key reason, then, that Jerusalem is “the beloved city” is that “the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6), Jesus Christ, will rule from this specific location. Despite Satan’s current and future heinous hostility against Jerusalem, it will survive. Satan’s hatred is defeated by Jesus’ love. Remember, He was crucified in this very city, yet still it remains to Him “the beloved city.” May this unchanging and unyielding love of God strengthen us as we rejoice in the fact that we “are accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).