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.)
Despite the stain of our sin, Jesus forgives. As we saw yesterday, this forgiveness is not a light, casual thing. No, this forgiveness was purchased for us at the greatest of costs in the darkness of the Cross. Luke 23:44 tells us that “there was darkness over all the earth” when Jesus died on His Cross. Remember Habakkuk 1:13a from yesterday? “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” As God the Son was taking our sins upon Himself, this darkness symbolized the unfathomable separation that occurred within the Godhead – what should have been our eternal separation from the sure and tender mercies of God. In Luke 23:34, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Then, He provided the basis for that prayer to be answered. I John 3:2 says, “He is our propitiation [atoning sacrifice] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a), and Jesus died that death that we might be forgiven and thus live. We are delivered from the darkness, from our darkness. Yes, “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).