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 victory at the midpoint of the Tribulation of Michael and other angels over Satan and his nefarious forces (Revelation 12:7-9) is celebrated in verses 10-12a: “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore, rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.’” Here, we learn that any spiritual victory must be attributed to “the blood of the Lamb.” Whether angelic or human, any such victory has its source in the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ. By offering Himself as our perfect sacrifice, He paid the full price for our sins and places us on the winning side for all eternity. In John 16:11, Jesus stated, “The prince of this world is judged.” He was speaking of the Cross and one of the many results of His death. The irony is profound, of course: it is Satan who is defeated at the Cross, not Jesus, the One dying there. Michael’s victory over Satan derives from the Cross; likewise, we can be victorious only because of Jesus’ death there. It is genuine comfort to know that, although we regularly encounter Satanic opposition, our adversary has already been eternally defeated.