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, as the Creator (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16), is the Inventor of Invitation; He gives each one of us the opportunity to have a full relationship with Him. In John 7:37-38, Jesus offers, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” The “Scripture” referenced here is Isaiah 55:1-3, which we considered on Friday: Jesus fulfills that Messianic passage. “Belly” refers to the spiritual side of man, what the Bible calls “the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). The relationship that Jesus offers us, then, changes us at our very core. The dynamic of this transformation is God the Holy Spirit, as we find specifically in verse 39: “(But this spake He of the Spirit, [Who] they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” The Spirit now indwells each Christian (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:20), ever drawing us to the truth (John 16:13). We not only can know this truth but also can have this truth “flow” out of us to others. We “who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1) now can be conduits of “rivers of living water.” In other words, each Christian can be instrumental in the process of drawing others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are not people of death; we are people of life, eternal life. This new role is part of the gracious invitation of our Savior.