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.)
Jesus is the reasonable choice because our faith is based on facts. I Corinthians 15:26 flatly states, “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Because our culture is not comfortable with the idea of death, escapists speak of the gentle closing of the eyes or entrance into a quiet darkness. Well, death is not beautiful, nor is it peaceful. Would we say that sin is beautiful or peaceful? Yet, it is sin that causes death, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). However, because Jesus is no longer dead, we know that death is not the end. It is an end, but not the end. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” We cannot escape this reality. For those who reject Jesus, there is the eternal tragedy of “the second death” (Revelation 20:14). For those who receive salvation through faith in Him, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The logic is persuasive: Jesus has defeated death and thus offers life. Because He was dead and buried but is now alive, we can be certain that He has destroyed the last enemy of the second and everlasting death for each one who believes in Him.