The first part of this verse says "Jesus Christ." The word "Jesus" means savior. The word Christ means anointed. Jesus is the anointed savior. Jesus was commissioned by God to become a man, die on the cross, and bare our sins in His body (1 Peter. 2:24).
He was anointed at His baptism when the Holy Spirit came upon Him and He entered into the Melchizedek priesthood to be the high priest sacrifice for our sins according to the Old Testament: Leviticus 8; Numbers 4; Exodus 29.
But, we must remember that Jesus is still God and man, even now.
Colossians 2:9, " For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."
Because He is God, He is holy and righteous, and His words cannot be broken.
Some may ask, "When Jesus became incarnate, is this not a change in him?"
No. It is not a change in what the Word was. As it says in John 1:1, 14, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The Word added human nature to His divine nature in the person of Christ. Therefore, Jesus who is the Word, is still divine, holy, unchanging, pure, forgiving, humble, trustworthy, gentle, kind, and so much more ... and at the same time, He is also a man.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
In the Old Testament we see the work of God through His people.
· We see God saving the world through Noah.
· We see God blessing the nations through Abraham.
· We see God providing the Law through Moses.
· We see God promising the Messiah through David.
We see Jesus dying on the cross for your sins so you might have redemption and forgiveness.
We also see through all of the promises, many physical appearances of God: Genesis 17:1; 18:1; Exodus 6:2-3; 24:9-11; Numbers 12:6-8, compare with John 6:46.
This is because God was, and still is, involved with His people.
In the Old Testament, it was the pre-incarnate Word that appeared to the saints.
In the New Testament, Jesus was with us in person.
Now, He lives in our hearts (John 14:23).
In the Bible, Jesus is unchanging. Throughout history in cults, they claim Jesus changes.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
This means that Jesus is here with you.
If He was with the Saints in the Old Testament, helping them, and guiding them, then He is also here today with you doing the very same thing.
He is involved in your life every day, today. Right now!
He is not only a hope for the future.
Jesus said,
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.
· Jesus was with the saints of old, as is shown in the Old Testament.
· Jesus is with you today because He said He would be with you always.
· Jesus will be with you in the future. To be with you always, means always... forever.
In all of eternity, the Lord Jesus will be forever interceding for you.
Never in all eternity will you have to worry about God failing, about God changing His mind about you, or about being rejected in anyway.
God cannot change. He cannot break a promise. He cannot stop loving you. He cannot cast you away.
Conclusion
· It means that you can always count on Jesus being there in your life, even when it doesn't seem like He is. He doesn’t change.
· It means that you can always depend upon his character to never change.
· It means that you can always know that His love for you cannot decrease.
It means that you can always depend on His commitment to you in all things, at all times, in all ways.
Though the world changes and we change, Jesus never changes.
You can always count on Jesus!
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