Wasn’t last Sunday great! After weeks of seeing the chancel adorned with purple paraments it was nice to see white hanging on the walls and draped across the ambo and altar. Ever since the pandemic worship attendance hasn’t been what it once was. It was nice to see the sanctuary once again full of worshipers. The members of Messiah are known for their ability to carry a tune, but what y’all did last Sunday was special. You sung the hymn of the day, you shouted the closing hymn, but it is what you did with the last verse of “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” that brought tears to my eyes. It was as if everything that had breath opened their mouths’ wide and proudly proclaimed their praise to our risen Lord and savior. The piano thundered, trumpets resounded, vocalists soared… Part of me felt like the angels in heaven stood up in appreciation when you sang that one.
Last Sunday was great. And I know I shouldn’t say this… I know it is not exactly encouraging for you to hear it, but part of me feels like worship is going to be all downhill from here. I know we have seven more Sundays in the Easter season, but many of the flowers have been removed from the sanctuary, most of the instruments are back in their cases, and all of the egg bakes have been eaten. I will do my best to prepare worship services that continue to edify your souls and I know you will do your best to continue proclaiming your praises but, compared to last Sunday, I kind of feel like worship is going to be all downhill from here.
You ever feel that way about your life? Maybe you are a young person preparing to leave home for the first time and you see a future full of car payments, grocery bills, and mortgages. Maybe you have settled into the routine of being middle-aged and you find that you no longer have the time (or physical stamina) to “go” and “do” like you used to. Maybe you woke up one day and discovered that your children have all moved out and your house is unbearably quiet. Maybe you are retired from a long and successful career, and you find yourself wondering, “now what?”. You ever feel like life is all downhill from here?
I imagine that is how the apostle John felt. John had lived a great life. He came from a wealthy family who ran a successful fishing business. He had been hand-picked by the Son of God to be a disciple, and not just any disciple but one of the inner three, if you will. John was there when Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead. John was there when Jesus was transfigured on the mountaintop with Moses and Elijah. John was there when the crucified Christ declared, “it is finished”. John was one of the first to arrive at the empty tomb, he saw the resurrected savior with his own eyes, and as Jesus ascended into heaven John was commissioned to go make disciple of all nations. After receiving power from the Holy Spirit on the great day of Pentecost (yes, what seemed like tongues of flame danced on John’s head too as he miraculously spoke in a foreign language), after that day John successfully carried out that commission for many years and was a pillar of the Jerusalem church.
John had lived a great life. Which is why he ended up on the island of Patmos. In verse 9 he tells us, “9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” The fourth century church historian Eusebius reports that John was exiled to the desolate island of Patmos during a time of heavy persecution against Christians. You see, John would not stop preaching about what he had seen and heard and was banished as a result. You know how sometimes you feel like you don’t have any friends? Well John didn’t have a lot of friends. Most of his friends were murdered for preaching about Jesus. You know how sometimes you feel lonely and isolated? Try living as an outcast in a cave on exile island. Have you ever felt like your life no longer has purpose, no reason for existence, that you are useless? Well then maybe you can understand how this preacher, who had no one to preach to, felt. I imagine John felt like it was all downhill from here.
I think that is part of the reason Jesus shared this revelation with John and I suspect it is why Jesus told John to write the revelation down and share it with you. Jesus wanted John and He wants you to know that your best days are not behind you. Rather, the best is yet to come.
Look at verses 12-16. There John tells us he saw Jesus “13… dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.” Long robes were worn by priests and kings as a symbol of their dignity and authority. John tells us “14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow.” White is a symbol of innocence and purity, holiness and righteousness. When white adorns the head, it describes someone who is both ancient and ageless. John tells us “His eyes were like blazing fire.” Fire penetrates the darkness. Eyes that burn see everything. As it is written in Hebrews 4:13, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” John tells us “15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace.” All the powers of this world, all rule and authority have become the footstool for these feet and the enemies of God’s people are crushed under these feet. John tells us “His voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” Like the overpowering sound of a waterfall that drowns out all other noise so is the word of God. In Psalm 46:6 we read, “Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.” John tells us “Out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword.” The “sharp double-edged sword” coming out of Christ’s mouth is unmistakably the word of God. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Finally, John tells us “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” As the sun radiates light and life upon the earth, so also the Son radiates light and life upon us.
John saw Jesus, not as he once was, not as a humble servant but as the glorified God. If you saw what John saw, how would you react? Yeah, that’s what John does too. 17“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”, John writes. It was impossible for a sinner like John and is impossible for sinners like us to stand in the presence of the Jesus. A glimpse of His glory reminds us just how far short we have fallen of the glory of God, and it causes us to confess with the prophet Ezra, “Here we are before you in our guilt, … because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”[1]
His long robe, white hair, burning eyes, glowing feet, thunderous voice, and radiant face are greater than the greatest thing we have ever seen. But one day, we will see it. Take another look at verses 12-16. John tells us he saw someone “like a son of man,” Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of man. We understand that it was necessary for Jesus to become a son of man. Romans 5:19 explains, “just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Jesus had to become a Son of man in order to become the substitute and sacrifice that was required to save mankind. But as soon as the righteous requirements of the law had been satisfied and He had ascended into heaven there was no reason, at least none that I can think of, that required Jesus to remain a Son of man, but He did. That the Son of God would choose to forever identify Himself with the sons and daughters of man… it is an act of absolute love.
Further John tells us that Jesus is not only willing to identify with us, but He is also willing to associate with us. John saw Jesus standing among “seven golden lampstands” Later, In verse 20, Jesus tells John the seven golden lampstands represent the church. That means John saw Jesus standing in the middle of the church; John saw Jesus standing with us. Do not think that when Jesus said, “it is finished”, He meant that he was finished with you. When Jesus said, “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”[2] -he meant it. When Jesus said “surely I am with you always even to the very end of the age”[3] -he meant it. And when Jesus said, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”[4] – He meant it.
Finally, John tells us that he saw Jesus holding “seven stars” in His right hand. Again, in verse 20, Jesus tells John the seven stars represent God’s messengers who preach to His people. As one of those messengers I must tell you, knowing that Jesus holds me in the palm of His hand is incredibly comforting. And, though it is humbling for me to hear it, I imagine the knowledge that Jesus hand-picked the man He wants to share His message with you is equally comforting. It turns out it is not just the angels in heaven that God commands concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Jesus doesn’t just associate with you; He hand picks the people who care for you.
Spending his last days as an exile on the island of Patmos probably made John think his best days were behind him, but I kind of feel like he changed his mind after Jesus showed him what was still to come. Whether you are a young person preparing for a future full of responsibility, or a young adult coming to grips with the fact that you ain’t what you once was, or a middle aged person wondering where the time went, or an older person trying to redefine yourself, I hope, after taking a closer look at the revelation Jesus shared with John, you realize that your best days aren’t behind you.
And you know what, I don’t think they are behind Messiah either. I think I was being rather short sighted when I suggested worship was going to be all downhill from here. Last Sunday was great. But the revelation that Jesus shared with John reminds me someday we will do more than sing about our living redeemer. We will confess with the author, “25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”[5] Easter was great, but clearly, the best is yet to come. Amen
[1] Ezra 9:15
[2] Matthew 18:20
[3] Matthew 28:20
[4] John 14:3
[5] Job 19:25-27