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.)
As an overview of Revelation 20, we can say with reverence that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, keeps the books. The song that we listened to Monday (“The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago”) uses this imagery and calls Jesus “the Keeper.” We can be certain that Jesus’ record keeping is faithful, for He is “called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11). The first part of Revelation 20 (verses 1-10) is almost dizzying in its detail, with monumental events occurring over a thousand-year period. At first glance, some of this passage can seem too involved to follow easily and thus somewhat confusing. However, this part of “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1), like the rest of the book, delivers not only information about the coming end but also insight into the character of Jesus. His attention to detail is absolute, as we see in these sweeping events and in the specificity of time, places, and individuals. When we multi-task, there is at least some degree of inefficiency, even if we are better than most at juggling a myriad of activities and responsibilities. However, because Jesus is faithful and infinite, He handles all matters as if He is doing only one thing: His efficiency never declines nor degrades. His mind – His beautiful mind – is ever alert and attentive: He “shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). What is true then is true now: Jesus is faithful in attending to our needs.