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 says the following about the Messiah, Jesus Christ: “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.” Ephesians 5:22-33 tells us that Jesus as the Husband of the Church has willingly sacrificed Himself for us (verse 25) in order to prepare us for and direct us to His heaven (verses 26-27). Verses 27-28 provide further insight into this relationship: “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.” Each one of us and all of us together are embraced, enfolded, and enveloped by this sovereign solicitude of our Savior. I often reference the response of Jesus when he observed a teeming, demanding crowd; “When He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on them” (Matthew 9:36a). He was not moved to move as far away from them as He could, as we might be tempted to do! No, His care for them was not based on mere duty but on merciful “compassion.” Let us never forget that Jesus cherishes us, for as the Husband of His Church He does all things well.