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.)
We continue our study of Psalm 110 today. Verse 4 says of the Messiah: “The LORD hath sworn and will not repent, ‘Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizadek.’” Tomorrow, on Good Friday, we will consider the primary teaching of this verse as it pertains to our Savior, Jesus Christ. However, we must deal with the word “repent.” Usually, to repent means to change one’s behavior for the better. Certainly, though, God cannot repent, for He always does what is best. Newer translations suggest that the word means that God will not change His mind. It is true that God will not change His mind, but the idea behind “repent” is even stronger. Really, it means that God will not choose another course of action. Three thoughts are uppermost when I ponder the implication. First, the character of God is fixed: He cannot change. Second, for God to be is to do; in other words, His nature is perfectly and consistently displayed in His works. Third, the specific matter at hand is the priestly work of sacrifice performed by Jesus Christ. There was never even the slightest wavering in the intent of God to save us by the death of Jesus, God the Son, on the Cross. Never in eternity past did God consider another course of action. May we marvel that God has always loved us this much.