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.)
Isaiah 54:5 points us to the promised Messiah: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.” Yesterday, we briefly considered the holiness of Jesus, for He is “the Holy One.” We should note that He is specifically called “the Holy One of Israel” here. Of course, Jesus in His humanity was Jewish and without sin (I Peter 1:19); thus, He was a holy Israelite, fulfilling this prophecy. Also, we can be confident that He will fulfill all of His promises to the nation of Israel. Romans 9-11 discusses this subject in detail. Romans 11:26-27 is soaringly specific: “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.’ “ This quotation from Isaiah 59:20-21 confirms that “the Holy One of Israel” will always be holy in His dealings with Israel and will keep His precious promises to the Jewish people. It is truly exciting to think about this time to come when the nation of Israel will welcome the Messiah!