I was really blessed by Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2" today!
Jesus Christ the Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. —
Hebrews 13:8
Do you ever feel like the world is shifting and swirling so
fast that it is different from one day to the next? It is simply a fact that we
live in an age when everything seems to be changing before our eyes. In fact,
technology develops so quickly that if I listed devices that represent the
“new” technology of today, whatever I wrote down would be outdated before this
book is printed!
Not only have we seen technologies change quickly, but we
have also seen politics and political parties, national and international
boundaries, and currencies change — and the list goes on and on. And in the
midst of this climate of sweeping changes that the world is caught up in,
scores of people have been swept into a seismic shift in core biblical values
and morals, even concerning the most basic tenets of faith. These changes are
occurring at an alarming rate, but we should not be surprised by it, because
the Holy Spirit warned us 2,000 years in advance that this would occur in the
very last part of the last days. Perhaps the shock we feel is that so many are
abandoning former positions of faith to embrace new ones at what seems to be
such lightning speed.
In the midst of this ever-changing environment, it is good
to remember that there is one thing that never changes — and that is Jesus
Christ! He was in the past exactly who He is in the present and precisely who
He will be forever! That’s why Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Today I want us to focus on this verse,
because it shows the immutability of Jesus Christ!
The Greek word for the “same” emphatically states that Jesus
Christ is unchangeable! What good news this is in a world where things are
changing at lightning speed! Jesus Christ is the one Person we can depend on to
be the same, regardless of the time or the spirit of the age. We don’t need to
refigure who Jesus is, what He thinks, or what His message is, because He is
the same — and everything He represents is the same —
yesterday, today, and forever!
The word “yesterday” is the Greek word exthes, and it
depicts all time that ever was up until this present moment. It
describes the past. The word “today” is the Greek word semeron, and
it means today or at this very moment or this current
age. It depicts the present. But in the Bible when the words “yesterday
and today” are used in one phrase, as they are used here, it also
portrays continuity.
The words “yesterday and today” are an Old Testament
expression to denote continuity (see Exodus 5:14; 2 Samuel
15:20). So here we find that Jesus isn’t one way in the past and another way in
the present. Whoever He was in the past is exactly who He is in
the present. There is continuity in Jesus Christ! Therefore, if
you discover Jesus of the past, you have also discovered Jesus of
the present, and you have discovered Jesus of the future,
because He is continuously the same. The word “forever” in Greek
means into all the ages of the future. This phrase depicts all
future time to come, including all ages that will ever be known. Hence, it
describes the future.
Hebrews 13:8 carries this idea:
“Jesus Christ is the exactly the same in the past, in the
present, and in the future.”
I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful that Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and for all future ages! With all the
sweeping changes happening in the world right now, I thank God that Jesus isn’t
one of them! Whoever He was in the past is who He is in the present and who He
will be forever!
So in light of this wonderful truth, I want to advise you to
dig deep into your Bible — particularly into the four gospels where Jesus is so
vividly portrayed. The Jesus you find in the four gospels will be the same
forever. What Jesus said and did in those four gospels is exactly what He is
saying and doing now. So if you come to know the Jesus of the gospels, you will
come to know the Jesus of today, because He is exactly, identically, and
precisely the same!
AMEN! The ONE sure thing in our world today is JESUS and HIS LOVE for you! Count on it! Count on HIM! Here is Hillsong Worship with "One Thing":
Shalom in Him!
