What do you know about Jesus? Do you know He has two radically different personas? Do you like both of them or just one of them? Do you have a hard time with one of them because you think it conflicts with the other? Let me tell you about what God taught me about how the different personas of Jesus bring hope.
I have found most Christians think of Jesus as a God of love. and even non-Christians think about Him as a person of love. I often hear people say we should be more loving because Jesus is all about love. Yes, He is all about love. Jesus’ love for us was demonstrated when he became a man and then separated from God the Father. He took my sins and yours on His shoulders when he died on the cross and became the sacrifice for the propitiation of our sins. It is the loving Jesus Who healed the sick, made the lame walk, opened blind eyes, and raised Lazarus from the grave. This is the Jesus who came to earth the first time.
Then there is the persona of Jesus as the Conquering King. This reflection of His love is one that many people do not like to talk about. It is the Jesus of Revelations 14. Many do not like this aspect of Jesus because this is where we see God’s wrath poured out. Revelation depicts Jesus here as the one who wields a sickle and gathers His enemies and puts them in a wine press where the blood flows out six feet high and 184 miles long. “And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.” Revelations 14:20 (ESV) I admit I am not a big fan of this image of Jesus. It describes destruction and wrath. But is demolishing evil something I should fear? I am safe in His love, and I too am becoming a big fan of His wrath because this will be the beginning of the end of all evil on the earth. My Pastor Troy Dobbs gave a great message on this subject on April 14, 2024
The Apostle John talks about the two personas of Jesus in Revelation 1:4-6,
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (ESV)
I pray you will embrace both personas of Jesus, Jesus as loving Savior and Jesus the Concurring King. If we accept Jesus as both, it brings us hope. Hope because we know we will be with Him always and hope because we know that His victory over the evil in the world will be complete. Understanding that Jesus is the only source of true hope. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied the penalty for my sins and yours as well. It satisfied all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because wisdom shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here. You can watch a book trailer about my book. You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here. eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
