Jesus: The Living One
0 Amens
Jesus has died, and risen, and now ascended to glory. How do you imagine Jesus now in glory….? If you are a believer and die, you will go to be with Christ; what would you expect him to look like….? John has a vision and sees into glory. He writes up what he sees for us in Revelation. This must be difficult; its easier to make notes of what you hear – you hear words, and write down words. But to see a vision, and write up a description is more difficult – especially as it’s a rather bizarre picture you see. This is PICTORAL language – not literally exact – but words describing images that John sees. Ch 1 has the most wonderful picture of Jesus in glory
1. Look what John sees:
The description is rather sci-fi – head like wool, eyes blazing, sword coming out of mouth, feet like bronze
What is clear is that this person shines as bright as the mid-day sun. Let’s look at what John sees.
First John sees, someone like a son of man, 13
This should alert us straight away to Dan 7:13 (P. 626). Daniel too has a vision of one like a son of man who approaches the Ancient of Days = God. The son of man is given authority and power over people; indeed over all people, and all nations; he has an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. Clearly this son of man is mighty powerful. That’s who John sees; and he finds him among the lampstands = the churches. Yes Jesus is Lord of the church, and of the nations.
He’s dressed in a long robe, 13b
These are the clothes of the OT High Priest.; the gold band is not merely around the waist but across the chest symbolizing not only his importance, but his power being worn like a breastplate. A great priest, but more than that a very great priest, standing among the churches. This is THE High priest, the one who has all authority – even authority to forgive sins.
14, head and hair white like wool, we read.
This is a picture of a blizzard, a heavy snowstorm. In Dan 7, the Ancient of Days had white hair. That means that our Son of Man is not just High priest, but he is also God; God if we may say so, who is old. Well of course he is; he is eternal. And age is highly respected in Scripture; God is described in Leviticus as an old man, and Prov 16:32 says Grey hair is a crown of splendour.
I wonder why our culture is so ageist; why youth is what we all seek? Everyone wants to look younger. Why don’t we like growing old?
I guess we fear the loss of our sight/hearing/mind that deteriorate over the years. We don’t like the fact that our bodies aren’t so supple and can’t function so well as the years go on. But that’s because this is ageism in a fallen world.
Once the curse of sin is gone; once we are with Christ in the new heavens/earth, then age will be seen positively, not negatively. All strength will be there; all mental powers will be sharp once again. There will be growth in wisdom, and we will see Jesus in perfection – no longer weary and battered as on the cross. But Jesus in splendour with his full faculties in use.
His eyes will be like blazing fire. The eyes of an older person look sunk and grey; the eyes of Jesus will be sharp and bright. He will miss nothing that happens in the universe – they will be as one person puts it – exploding with energy. You see, Jesus will never be exhausted again, never burnt out, but full of life and vitality. We will see it in his eyes.
15 feet like bronze glowing in a furnace.
Jesus has passed through the fire of suffering, torture and death – even the fire of hell – and he’s on the other side. He stands therefore over the world as one who is pure and good. Can we look at one like this?
With a voice like sound of rushing waters
Have you been to the Niagara Falls? – 12 cubic ft or torrential water tumbling over the edge each minute. It’s so loud you can’t hear yourself speak; you just stand there in awe and silence. That’s the same with seeing Jesus.
16 in his right-hand; ah yes, that’s hand of authority and power. That’s the hand he holds the universe and especially the churches – the seven stars.
And out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. What power he wields; what authority he carries. The sword of truth and judgement; the sword to cut through all the lies and get right to our hearts.
This is why we are so keen on the Scriptures; they are God’s word, his sword. A cutting word from the Lord Jesus cuts right into our hearts and changes us for ever.
17 his face is like the sun in all its brilliance
It’s a picture of majestic brilliance; a picture of God. After all, no-one in OT could look at God and live. Moses face shone when he returned from meet with God. The Lord Jesus became dazzling white when he was transfigured. And this is what John saw. What a magnificent picture he puts forward!
2. Look how John reacts
17 he fell as his feet as though dead. And no wonder, it’s the obvious thing to do. But this is no mere bowing down graciously; this is almost a knock-out, the shock of seeing Jesus in all his splendour. John knew Jesus well, he had traveled with him, eaten with him, even seen him on that Mt of Transfiguration, but now he sees the unveiled son of man. And the vision sweeps him off his feet.
Well you might say; he’s seen Jesus before, even Jesus transfigured, why is he so overwhelmed? Well this is Jesus the Living One. This is Jesus THE resurrection and the Life.
It’s a great contrast isn’t it; John is down like a corpse; Jesus is death’s conqueror
But then look what happens:
Jesus places his right hand on John and says: Do not be afraid, 17. Remember the right hand = the hand of power. The powerful Sovereign is telling John not to be afraid? Why would he say that?
Well, back on earth, Jesus often said that to john and the fellow followers of Jesus. There was much fear on earth, and the assurance of Jesus was always appreciated, but why now, why in glory? Well look what he goes on to say:
3. Look how Jesus describes himself
Jesus explains, first: I am the first and the last . Jesus is the eternal one; John has never seen such a one in all his splendour – he could easily be afraid
Second, Jesus says: 18: I am the LIVING ONE. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever.
So this Jesus is truly THE resurrection. He is always alive.
Back in OT God was called the living God; it was a very helpful reminder that he was unlike all the other gods – dead gods, lifeless statues that could help no-one. He was living, and therefore active. He was the God who did things – sending a flood, parting the sea, rescuing his people.
All our contemporary gods are also dead. Where are the bodies of Nietzche, of Darwin, of Freud – all rotting in their graves; dead and buried? They may still hold some influence, but compared to Jesus they are dead losses. Jesus is the living One in two respects:
He both has life within himself – he is life. And he has life to generate in others – he gives life. The dead gods can’t do that, but Jesus is both the source of life and the donator of life. He’s the Living One.
No wonder he tells John not to be afraid.
Thirdly, Jesus says: And I hold the keys of death and hades – the keys to release his followers from death; to open death’s door.
Do we realise that our eternal destiny is literally in Jesus’ hands. He can open heaven’s gates or lock us into hell. Of course he can, cos he’s in charge now. He’s proved it by the res. He has taken death by the scruff of the neck and captured it for all eternity.
’Tis mystery all: the immortal dies: Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all, immense and free, (from And can it be…)
4. How should we react?We must see Jesus as he really is. Jesus is BIG – he’s massive. But we are not meant to shrivel up and see ourselves as grasshoppers; we are the beneficiaries of all he is and all he’s achieved. He may have all authority and power – but he invites us to join him. He may have the keys of death and hell; he may control the world – indeed he alone can unlock the gate of eternal life and let you in. No-one else can free you from the fear of death; no-one else can grant you life in all its fullness.
We must have a proper picture of Jesus. It is easy to distort the picture; to think that power is with this world. To think that if I don’t work hard, I won’t get my pension – and translate that into a works-salvation. I can live my life and crowd out the risen Jesus. You know we become what we continually look at. How then can we keep looking at Jesus. Well in the same way as John did – by looking at his word. By reading what John & the others wrote. And by continually falling at Jesus’ feet
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Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are privileged people indeed. With the scriptures in our hands we can have a peek behind the curtain; we can see what eternity is like. And boy does it look good. How we long to see Jesus for ourselves. Thank you that your holy Spirit brings Jesus to us in your word. Help us to see him clearly we pray; take off our blinkers, and cause us to drop down on our knees. Make our faces shine as we too reflect his glory to our contemporaries we pray. We ask this all for the honour of your Son, our Saviour. Amen
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