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.)
We return to Jesus’ teaching about future events: “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:32-33). People who tell us that they know the date of the prophesied return of Christ are lying, whether from self-delusion, pride, or some other motive or combination of motives. Some of them seem ready (to paraphrase a writer whose name I cannot recall) to sell ring-side tickets to Armageddon. Such date-setters do not merit the wise Christian’s attention even when they are speaking about matters other than prophecy. Various cults have seized upon Jesus’ statement that “the Son” did not know the date of His return to earth and thus cannot be God. Such a misinterpretation ignores the plethora of references that affirm the full deity of Jesus. Of course, if Jesus is not God, then He could not be our Savior, for He could not pay the full penalty for our sins. Let us not dishonor the Word of God and God Himself by adopting the ideas of cult leaders – people greedy for power, control, and money. Instead, let us remember that Jesus voluntarily chose not to exercise the fullness of His deity and instead confined Himself to a human body. This remarkable self-restraint is actually a powerful evidence of His Godhood. In fact, His entire earthly ministry is an ongoing example of divine restraint (as we find in detail in Philippians 2:5-11). May we often meditate upon the willingness of Jesus, God the Son, to leave His rightful place in heaven to come to earth in order to secure every believer a place with Him in heaven.