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.)
As we search “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), we find that God has drawn us to Himself (John 6:44; 12:32; 16:13), always using His Word (John 1:36-37) and frequently employing family members (II Timothy 1:5) and others (Acts 7:58 – 8:1; 9:1-6). Still another way that Jesus prepares us is through times of crisis. In Acts 6:7, we read that “a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” These men knew the Old Testament well and had heard Jesus preach numerous times in the Temple. However, they did not believe then. It was a crisis, really, a catastrophe, that provided the impetus for their salvation. When Jesus died on the Cross, “the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51). This divine act revealed that access to God would no longer be through a high priest but through the High Priest, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:24-8:1). However, for the priests, this event was unthinkable, for it revealed that the Shekinah glory of God (His immediate presence) was not in the Holy of Holies (and had not been for centuries – see Ezekiel 8:4; 9:3; 10:4; 18-19; 11:22-23). Had the special presence of God been in the Holy of Holies when Jesus died, everyone in the Temple would have been struck dead; the priests in retrospect could be grateful for that absence. However, they believed the high priest, and their whole lives were focused on the Temple. Now they realized that everything that they had lived for was empty. Only through this crisis of faith could these men be saved; only when all the falsity was stripped away could they see the truth that God’s Shekinah glory was not in the Holy of Holies … it was nailed to the Cross, shrouded in darkness. Certainly for some people, especially adults, a time of crisis is crucial in creating a response of faith. Thank You, Lord, that even a bad crisis can be used by You to prepare us for Your greatest good – Your eternal salvation.