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.)
Revelation 21:1 states, “And I [John] saw a new heaven [universe] and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” The detail that the “new earth” will have “no more sea” is fascinating to me. One esteemed commentator calls this information “cryptic” and moves on to the next verse. However, this is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) and is thus intended to help us understand. There are many things beyond our comprehension (Deuteronomy 29:29; Isaiah 55:8-11), but there are references to the sea in Scripture that provide a background to its future absence. For the people of Israel (remember, John was Jewish), the Mediterranean Sea was called the Great Sea. We can appreciate their trepidation about the sea in general, for the first thing that got in their way during the Exodus from slavery in Egypt was the Red Sea. They were such landlubbers that they called Galilee, a rather small lake, the Sea of Galilee. To the Jewish mind of that era, the sea was a symbol of mystery. Psalm 36:6b says, “Thy judgments are a great deep.” Psalm 77:19 adds, “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known.” Romans 11:33, which begins a benediction at the end of three chapters about Israel and its future salvation, exults, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” There are many things that are mysterious to us right now (for example, sorrow or suffering that we or others may be enduring), but much will be made clearer when we enter into eternity with Jesus. I Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Thus, the “no more sea” of the “new earth” means that there will be no more mystery in our new eternity with Jesus. As one hymn encourages, “Be still, my soul – thy God doth undertake / To guide the future as He has the past; / Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake – / All now mysterious shall be bright at last. / Be still, my soul – the waves and winds still know / His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.”