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 coming again: “I come quickly” (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20) is His promise. Even as we reflect on the fact that His Second Coming will mean overwhelming judgment for those who reject His offer of eternal deliverance, we must not lose sight of the truth that Jesus loves. In Matthew 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus about the time and signs “of Thy coming, and of the end of the world.” He does not speak of the exact timing (verse 36 – “of that day and hour knoweth no man”), but He does provide numerous details throughout the entire chapter. As He graciously gives these dire and direct warnings, He compassionately commands, “See that ye be not troubled” (verse 6). Here, we have a revelation of the comprehensive nature of Jesus’ love. He cares about everything that makes us human, including our emotions and our intellects. None of us like to observe or experience deception (verses 4-5), war (verse 6), famine (verse 7), pestilence (verse 7), and betrayal (verse 10), but these things will necessarily increase at the end. Jesus speaks of these horrors out of love, for His intent then and now is to reassure His disciples that He is in control. Shock joined with sadness is a distressing and depressing combination. Jesus lovingly removes the surprise such that we can deal with the strong emotion of these coming traumatic events. He also informs us intellectually, giving us specific prophetic details that engage our minds and strengthen our shared faith. The love of Jesus deals with the whole man, for He does not redeem just a part of who we are. His salvation is full, free, and forever. May each of us “be not troubled” as we think of His absolute love.