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.)
Jesus gives thanks for opening our lives to His goodness (Matthew 15:32-38) and for opening our minds to His truth (Luke 10:21-22). Moreover, He offers thanks for opening our eternity to His presence. Luke 22:19-20 records the institution of the Communion service. He “gave thanks” (verse 19) as He shared “bread” with His disciples; He did the same (“likewise” – verse 20) as He distributed “the cup.” These emblems prefigured His very real death on the Cross. His “body” shut down and began the process of decay; His “blood” was “shed” from His head, back, hands, and feet (and after His death, His side). Astonishingly, Jesus was thankful for the opportunity to save us forever. Imagine that you are stranded on a steep cliff, dangling thousands of feet above a rocky death. A rescuer suddenly arrives with rope and a harness – and says, “Thank you for letting me save you.” That would be most unusual, but the rescue becomes even more surprising, for only one person can use the harness. Your rescuer transfers you to the safety of the harness … and then plunges to his death. Thankful for that? That couldn’t happen! Oh, but it did; this is what Jesus did on the Cross to open His heaven to us. May each of us be certain that our faith is in this Savior, Jesus Christ, and may our thanksgiving abound.