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.)
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) is a demonstration of His everlasting love. He has “loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (1:5). This passage connects His love with the shedding of His blood. The juxtaposition of “our sins” with “His own blood” is both exhilarating and excruciating: our sins are washed away, but only at the expense of Jesus’ blood – that is, of His substitutional and sacrificial death on the Cross. In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” He was not speaking in generalities, for He knew that He would die both a physical death and a spiritual death the very next day. Not one person can reasonably doubt the love of Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 reassures us that “God commendeth [demonstrates] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us then, He loves us now, and He will always love us. Truly, Jesus loves His Church; may we do the same.