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.)
Following Jesus’ prophecy about the future earthly suffering of James and John (Mark 10:39), He states that He will not accede to their demand to sit next to His throne in “glory” (verse 37): “But to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared” (verse 40). Matthew 20:23 further clarifies that “it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father”; in simple terms, God the Father in His omniscience and omnipotence has already assigned these future heavenly seats. We should not erroneously conclude that the Father is greater than the Son (or the Spirit). No, each Person within the Godhead performs His role in this eternal relationship. Is the Father less than the Son because Jesus is the member of the Trinity Who died on the Cross for our sins? Of course not. Is Jesus less than the Spirit because the Spirit draws each believer to salvation? No. Is the Spirit less than the Father because the Father rewards some with seats next to Jesus? Again, no. Each Person of the Triune Godhead fulfills His role impeccably. The perfect union of Father, Son, and Spirit is the unbreakable basis of the certainty that each believer possesses in his everlasting relationship with God.