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 Revelation 20:13-14, the Apostle John records, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” The mention of “sea” assures us that all people will be resurrected, even those who are unburied. I Corinthians 15:26 promises, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” and the fulfillment of that promise is poetically and powerfully pictured in this passage. Similarly, “Hades” (the correct translation of “hell” in this passage) is judged; this temporary place of punishment is no longer needed and is replaced by the eternal place of torment – “the lake of fire,” or hell. Some might wonder why these three are mentioned here. Certainly one answer is that their inclusion reveals the completeness of God’s justice: no unbeliever can escape. It is instructive to note that God’s first recorded question to man was, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9) – a question to which He knew the answer. Adam and Eve thought that they could hide from God and His justice, but they found out that they could not. As soon as they were summoned by God, they had to come forth. So it will be in the final judgment of unbelievers. The summons to the heavenly assize will come, and Jesus will justly judge. His thoroughness, a blessing to believers, becomes a bane to those who choose to reject His mercy, grace, and love.