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.)
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) continues to reveal the nature of our Savior. In Revelation 19:11-16, the “name” of Jesus is central, being used three times (verses 12, 13, 16). His “name” means His character, Who He really is. Verse 11 records, “And I [John] saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He [Who] sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” Including this passage, there are five references in the New Testament to heaven being opened (the others are Matthew 3:16-17, John 1:51, Acts 7:56, and Revelation 4:1-5:14). In each of these passages, Jesus is specifically mentioned and emphasized. Three simple thoughts arise in my simple mind. First, each one of us needs Jesus as Savior in order for heaven to be opened to us eternally, for “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12b). Second, to speak of heaven and not of Jesus (a fashionable heresy) is the language of hell. Third, heaven is the place of the immediate presence of Jesus. There, we will perceive the fullness of His majesty and glory. The remarkable words of John 14:2c tells us that Jesus will make His place our place too: “I go to prepare a place for you.” To think of heaven is to think of Jesus; to think of Jesus is to think of heaven.