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.)
Jesus is eternal – past, present, and future. Because He does not change (Hebrews 13:8), His love does not change; this love was most powerfully demonstrated at the Cross (I John 4:9-10), as we studied Saturday. Thus, we can enjoy our eternal salvation right now, in the present. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus unequivocally proclaims, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.” Because Jesus does not change, His salvation can also not change (John 10:28-30, 13:1; Romans 8:28-39; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; I John 1:21; Jude 24, just to name a few verses). Why then do people not flock to Jesus? A key reason is pride. I know a woman who insists that she is not a sinner – and in so doing is sinning by calling God a liar: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (I John 1:10). Some people say that they believe that because God is love He thus will never condemn anyone, yet in so doing they reject His love, His crucifixion love. Some Eastern religions teach that we merely need to unlock the godhead within us all, but there is not a key big enough to do that! All of these people are choosing self-love rather than God’s love; they are choosing pride rather than humble acceptance of God’s salvation. It is the Savior, God the Son, Jesus Christ, Who has “the keys of hell and death.” When we trust fully and only in Him, He saves us to Himself, never to let us go.