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.)
One remarkable truth about Jesus is that He does not look at us and groan. We would understand if He did! Instead of groaning at us and our failures, though, He groans along with us. In John 11:33-38, part of a lengthy passage regarding the resurrection of Lazarus, we find that Jesus “groaned in the spirit” (verse 33); in verse 38, He was “again groaning in Himself.” These are strong emotions, indicating a burning, building outrage. However, Jesus did not direct His powerful feelings against us. Rather, He was groaning about death and sin, “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Jesus then raised his friend from the dead. This great miracle, though, could not ultimately defeat death. Only Jesus’ death on the Cross and His resurrection three days later could bring about the forgiveness that we need to enter into life eternal. We should never think that Jesus no longer groans along with us just because He has ascended to heaven, for Hebrews 13:8 states, “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” He is still groaning for us and with us.