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.)
Before we descend from the Mount of Transfiguration, let us consider God’s goodness to Moses and Elijah. We will not fall into the trap of trying to elevate them to the level of Jesus, as Peter did (Mark 9:5-6). Rather, we are focusing on how God blessed them. Moses was forbidden from entering the Promised Land due to his flagrant disobedience (Numbers 20:1-13). His punishment is a reminder of the principle of responsibility and accountability found in James 3:1: “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” He did not enter the Promised Land with his people, but over fourteen centuries later God placed him there. What a blessing! Elijah felt that he was the only person of faith in all Israel (I Kings 19:1-18). At that time, God assured him that 7,000 faithful ones existed at that time. Over eight centuries later, God set him alongside other believers (Peter, James, and John), thus affirming that there were still faithful people in Israel. God’s work is always multi-faceted; He is ever doing more than one thing. As God the Son was transfigured, authenticating His Messiahship, both Moses and Elijah were also personally blessed.