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.)
I can think of no more startling statement of the humility of Jesus than Galatians 3:13: “Christ hast redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’” The quotation is from Deuteronomy 21:23. Verse 22 of that passage establishes the conditions of this “curse”: “If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree.” Of course, Jesus did not commit “a sin worthy of death”; in fact, He was sinless (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:22). The sin that caused Him to be “cursed” was ours – and ours alone. Yet, we are the ones set free from the curse. In an earlier study, I said that Jesus always exercised His humility to benefit others. Even His return to His rightful place in heaven advantages us, for it reminds us of the promise of I Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Because of the humility of Jesus, each believer will one day be exalted in order to be with Him. Humility, then, is not humiliation, for we will be lifted high to worship and serve the Most High God. Truly, He ever works on our behalf.