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) records the creation of a new universe and new earth (Revelation 21:1) and the eternal “holy city” (verse 2). We are then assured of our Savior’s great desire to be with us forever (verse 3). No more words are required to convince us of God’s great love for us, but He is so good that He provides further assurance in verse 4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” These words echo Isaiah 25:8: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” We see the complete continuity of the Old Testament and the New Testament. We also see the absolute reality of God’s Word, for it speaks openly of the unfortunate existence (and sometimes prevalence) of “tears.” For example, Psalm 56:8 is David’s lament when he was with the Philistines in Gath: “Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” The picture is of God’s full awareness of and concern for each teardrop. Similar imagery is employed in Psalm 126:5-6 (the source of a famous hymn): “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” In Jeremiah 9:1, the prophet – aptly and often called the weeping prophet – laments, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” As we consider the tears of others and contemplate our own, it is a blessed relief to know that God knows and that He has promised to “wipe away all tears from [the] eyes” of each believer.