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.)
Three times in Revelation 16, we read that the unbelievers of the end of the Tribulation “blasphemed” (verses 9, 11, 21). The power and righteousness of God are on full and obvious display, and these faithless ones know it. Still, they refuse to repent – to change their minds and turn from their ways of destruction and damnation. Moreover, they actively oppose the Almighty God; they spurn the salvation offered by the Savior, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and openly revile Him. In this “great” chapter of the Bible (the word is used eleven times), we see the greatness of our Savior throughout but especially in the word “blessed” (verse 15). In the midst of blasphemy against Him, Jesus remains ready to bless anyone who turns to Him and trusts in Him for eternal salvation. Think of the light that broke into the darkness of Paul’s murdering mind (Acts 9), into the atheism of such men as T. S. Eliot and C. S. Lewis, and into our own careless and perhaps even callous lives. This same light will shine brilliantly even when the vast majority of people will convince themselves that they prefer darkness. Truly, “great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalm 48:1a).