The pixels of the words of Jesus

Everyone stands at a certain distance to the words of Jesus.

If you are way far away, well, they appear to be just words lost in the jungle of infinite other words. They matter little.

If you get closer, they take on a certain pictorial quality. And as I've said before, a picture is worth a thousand words. And these pictures are worth looking at.

When you get really close, amazingly the words of Jesus don't loose focus. In fact new things emerge in the pixels.

I noticed this with several guys the other day; we were reading the end of Luke 18. This is when Jesus tells his disciples they were all going to Jerusalem where he would be abused and mocked, ultimately crucified, only to rise again on the third day. His disciples understood none of it.

(Can you imagine being in Jesus' shoes? What a downer! You tell your closest friends you're about to die -- and they just don't get it. I guess at that point they were still far away from His words).

But get closer. He said something else we all missed the first time. He said they were going up to Jerusalem ...

"... and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled."

Wait a minute. Everything will be fulfilled? What about the second coming?

Everything.

What about the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the calf and the lion together ... and a young child leading them? What about that?

Everything.

When Jesus went up to Jerusalem, suffered, died, rose on the third day, EVERYTHING the prophets ever said was fulfilled.

Everything.

Who said time was linear?

When you get really close to Jesus' words, down to the pixels, they say something else.

Logos

Luke 18.31-34 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again." The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

John 19.28-30 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Isaiah 11.6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Revelation 1.8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.