The Same Yesterday, Today, and Forever

The Jesus we know and serve today is the same wonderful Redeemer we read about in the Gospels, forever faithful and true. Today, Sinclair Ferguson shares a little verse filled with good news for all who rest in Christ.

Well, it’s Friday already again, and today on Things Unseen, we’re coming to the last of what I’ve called texts that shaped me. And I’ve appreciated being able to reflect with you on verses that have shaped my own life. But if this is your first time listening, I need to reassure you these podcasts are not all about me. I’m going to close out the week with words I imagine are familiar to all of us, Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

The author of Hebrews was inviting his readers to think about those who had been their leaders. And just as he had done after reminding them of the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, he tells them, “You’ve got to fix your eyes on Jesus.” And he points them away from all others to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Leaders come and go, but Jesus, he says, is the same yesterday and today and forever. I suspect these words are sometimes, maybe even often, read as more or less the equivalent of saying Jesus is eternally the same. But there’s more to the words “yesterday and today and forever” than that.

So, what does this statement really mean? Well, “yesterday” here doesn’t just mean merely the day before today; it’s referring to yesterday from the point of view of the writer, to what he had called, earlier on in Hebrews, “the days of Christ’s flesh.” That’s in chapter 5, verse 7. He’s talking about what Jesus was like during those years—Jesus as we read about Him in the Gospels—the Jesus who preaches the kingdom of God, who calls men and women to repentance and faith; the Jesus who shows the power of His kingdom in works of grace and transformation; the Jesus who reveals Himself as full of grace and truth; the loving Jesus, caring for the needy, for the poor, for the sick—that Jesus—the Jesus who was the friend of sinners; the Jesus who said: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Learn of Me, for I’m gentle and lowly, and you’ll find rest for your souls”; the Jesus who said: “I am the Light of the World. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”

If that’s when “yesterday” was, then it follows that “today” is not just the day after yesterday; it’s all the days after the yesterday when the Son of God walked this earth. It’s what the author calls “today,” meaning any day, or week, or month, or year until Christ returns. And he’s telling us that the Lord Jesus is today—and He will be forever—the same wonderful person He was yesterday, the person we read about in the Gospels. It’s not just that He’s like that Jesus. No, He is that Jesus. Yes, He’s now exalted at God’s right hand in glory, but nevertheless, He is the same today and will be forever as He was in that yesterday of His ministry on earth.

Now, why would this verse shape my life? I think, first of all, because it taught me how to read and apply the Gospels and how to get to know the Lord Jesus better. I think I may have mentioned before what I call the “find Waldo” or “find Wally” approach to reading the Gospels, where people read the Gospels and try to identify themselves with one of the characters, to find themselves in one of the characters—maybe Nicodemus, or Zacchaeus, or Mary, or Martha, and so on. But the Gospels were written so that we would find and see Jesus Himself in them—who He is, what He is like, what He came to do for us, what He has accomplished for our salvation—because He is that same Jesus for us today. That’s what Hebrews 13:8 is telling us.

Do you see Jesus in the Gospels? He’s still that same Jesus for you today. Not only so, but He’s going to be that same Jesus every today until He comes again. And He’s always going to be like that because that’s who He is.

Incidentally, I wonder if you read the Gospels that way. Or if you’re a preacher, do you preach the gospels that way? I’ve said before in the podcast that there’s a lot of emphasis these days on how to preach Christ from the Old Testament, but, you know, there’s something I would be bold enough to say is more important than that: it’s learning how to preach Jesus from the Gospels because that’s where we learn who He still is and what He’s still like today. That’s the Jesus we all need to get to know better and love more, the real flesh and blood Jesus. It’s fascinating to me that this is actually one of the central emphases of the entire book of Hebrews. I suspect that’s why the author wrote these words towards the end of his exhortation, and they’ve come to mean a great deal to me, and I hope their truth will mean a great deal to you. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That’s not only a great text; it’s great good news.

If you’re a believer, you too will have particular texts and passages that have shaped you. And as I’ve said before, I think it’d be worthwhile taking a few minutes to reflect on them this weekend and to appreciate once more all that Lord has done for you and the way He has shaped you and molded you through His Word. As the old song says, “Count your blessings,” we might say, “Count your texts, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” I hope you’ll join us again next week on Things Unseen.