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 5:9 says of Jesus, “Thou art worthy.” As we studied yesterday, only He could take and open the scroll “sealed with seven seals.” This deed of dominion was originally given – and this may seem surprising – to mankind. Genesis 1:26 records, “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth!” (As an aside, the use of “us” prepares for the fuller New Testament revelation of the Trinity.) Why was such authority granted to man? First, mankind was created in the image of God: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). Second, mankind was without sin at that time and thus completely capable of exercising appropriate dominion of the earth and all that it contains. The fall of Adam into sin changed the order that God had established (Genesis 3:17-19). Although humans still exercise some level of authority (for we are still created in the image of God), sin has tainted the effectiveness of that dominion, turning it into something that is often negative and that is closer to domination. Scientists, intellectuals, and politicians attempt to regain that authority, but such human attempts are doomed to ultimate failure. However, ultimate failure is not an option for Jesus, for “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof” (Revelation 5:5).