041507 Easter 2
Easter 2, April 15, 2007
The Reassuring Presence of the Risen Christ
Text: Revelation 1:4–18
Other Lessons: Acts 5:12–20 (21–32); Psalm 148; John 20:19–31
Sermon Theme: The presence of the risen Christ with his Church calms our doubts and fears.
Goal: That hearers will have their doubts overcome about the resurrection of Jesus, his victory over death for us, and his ongoing presence with his Church.
Introduction
“The revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) was written by the apostle John while in exile on the island of Patmos, just off the coast of modern Turkey. It was addressed to seven actual churches. Revelation begins with letters from Christ himself to these churches, letters that include commendation, criticism, and comfort. Then comes a long series of interrelated visions of judgment on the wicked, all in highly symbolic language. The church is depicted under great distress, but is assured of the final triumph of Jesus as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (19:16), bringing to an end the rebellion of humanity and ushering in “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1), where God himself will reign forever and ever (11:15). John wrote about a.d. 95–96.
Prologue
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 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, 5 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 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Introduction: Most children have some fear of being alone at home, and the Home Alone movies have only given more reasons for such fears. What helps quiet such fears is the presence of a parent, family member, babysitter, or even a trusted pet. The presence of a loved one brings children feelings of security that quiet their natural fears. While most of us have overcome our fears of being alone at home, we often have bigger fears related to physical death and divine judgment. Our text for today makes vivid that
The Presence of the Risen Christ
with His Church Calms Our Doubts and Fears.
I. Christ calms our doubts and assures us that he is the one true God.
A. We may doubt that Jesus is indeed the only true God.
B. The vision of the risen Christ assures us that Christ is YHWH from eternity.
1. He is one like a son of man (Ezek 1:26; Dan 7:13).
2. He is clothed in a long flowing robe (Is 6:1).
3. He has a golden sash around his chest (Dan 10:5).
4. He has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze (Dan 10:6).
5. His head and hair are white as wool like the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9).
6. His voice is like the roar of many waters (Ezek 1:24; 43:2).
7. He has a sharp, two-edged sword coming out of his mouth (Is 11:4; 49:2).
8. His face is like the sun shining in full strength (Ex 34:29–35; Mt 17:2).
C. When we worship Jesus, we are worshiping the one and only eternal God.
II. Christ calms our fears and assures us of the victory over death.
A. We need not fear his presence.
1. John fell at Christ’s feet as though dead.
2. But Christ removes the need to fear God by freeing us from our sins by his blood (v 5).
B. We need not fear death.
1. Christ is the firstborn from the dead (v 5).
2. Christ holds the keys of Death and Hades (v 18).
C. We need not fear judgment.
1. “All tribes of the earth will wail on account of him” (v 7).
2. But Christ has “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (v 6).
III. Christ assures us that he is with his Church.
A. Christ walks in the midst of the lampstands (churches) and holds the stars (pastors) in his right hand.
B. Christ is present as he speaks through his Word.
C. Christ is present as he feeds his bride with his very body and blood.
Sermon Development: This text offers the opportunity to apply Law to the congregation in at least three ways and then bring the Gospel from the text to address those situations. First, there are times that we may doubt that Jesus is indeed the only true God. This vision of the risen Christ draws on the imagery and is recorded in the language of other Old Testament theophanies to assure us that the Christ whom we worship is none other than the visible form of YHWH that has existed from eternity and shown himself throughout the history of the patriarchs and prophets. When we worship Jesus, we are worshiping the one and only eternal God!
Second, John’s fear, visible in this text, is a fear each of us shares about the presence of God, physical death, and judgment. Over and over again in the Old Testament, we see sinners full of fear and sure of death when in the presence of God (e.g., the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6!). We, too, are sinners who tremble in God’s presence. We fear physical death. We fear judgment (“all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him,” according to v 7), especially when we see an imposing portrait of Christ with a sword coming out of his mouth (v 16). To us Christ says a loud “Stop fearing!” We need not fear his presence; he “has freed us from our sins by his blood” (v 5). We need not fear death; Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades” (v 18). We need not fear judgment; he has “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (v 6).
Third, we can have doubts about the reality of the resurrection and the ongoing presence of God. Is Christ with his Church? Is he with our pastor? This vision assures us that Christ has not ascended to heaven in order to leave his Church, but to be present and reign over us. The risen Christ continues to be present in the midst of his Church (v 13) as he speaks through his Word (cf. Revelation 2–3!) and feeds his bride with his very body and blood (Rev 3:20). His pastors (the seven angels) are not abandoned in tribulation, but are protected in his very hand (vv 16, 20).
Liturgical Setting
Since our text is the Epistle for Easter 2, it is natural to focus our preaching on the appearance and words of the risen Christ. The Gospel for the day (Jn 20:19–31) is Jesus’ appearances to his disciples on Easter and a week later with Thomas. The doubts exhibited by Thomas continue, yet so does the presence of the risen Christ with his Church as depicted in the Epistle. During Easter, the Old Testament Reading is replaced by readings from Acts. Acts 5:12–32 depicts God’s miraculous deliverance of the apostles from prison; here, too, we see the ongoing presence of Christ with his Church. The Introit (from Ps 105:1–5, 8 and 1 Pet 2:2–3) emphasizes growing up in the salvation that we have tasted now that God has delivered Christ from death, since that is also our deliverance. This we believe and confess, and in the Collect we pray that God would enable us to show forth this confession with our lives.
Relevant Context
The Book of Revelation describes itself as apokalupsis Iēsou Christou (1:1). This “apocalypse” is a revelation, or unveiling, of Jesus Christ through a series of visionary scenes that deal with past, present, and future reality. The use of visions puts this New Testament book very much in line with Old Testament prophecy, wherein visions are the dominant means used for divine revelation (see especially Ezekiel, Daniel 7–12, and Zechariah). The Epistle for Easter 2 follows a brief prologue (1:1–3), in which John identifies his writing as “words of . . . prophecy” (v 3). This Epistle includes the first powerful scene in the actual vision that John received, a scene in which the risen Christ appears before John and commissions him to write this book.
Textual Notes
V 4a: Although the bulk of Revelation is visionary prophecy that begins at 1:12 and continues to 22:11, John records the scenes of this vision in the context of an Epistle (i.e., a Letter). This text begins in a manner similar to various New Testament Epistles: the sender and addressees are identified, followed by a trinitarian greeting formula (vv 4–5). The “John” (v 4) who is sending this document is possibly the apostle John, the son of Zebedee and author of the Gospel and Epistles of John, but this is not certain. At the very least, we know that this John was probably the bishop, or overseer, of the seven churches to whom Revelation is addressed (vv 4, 11). These churches were probably made up of a series of house congregations in each of these large, pagan cities that were in relatively close proximity and connected through a fine system of Roman roads. The evidence in the seven dictated letters of Revelation 2–3 details some of the specific challenges these churches faced.
Vv 4b–5a: John’s greeting, charis humin kai eirēnē (“grace to you and peace”), is similar to the Pauline formula, but the manner in which the Trinity is identified in 1:4b–5a is unique: “From him who is and who was and who is to come [the Father], and from the seven spirits who are before his throne [the Holy Spirit], and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth [the Son].” The title used for the Father is an interpretation of the divine name YHWH that has a strong eternal and eschatological thrust (Ex 3:14). The title for the Holy Spirit comes from the sevenfold Spirit of Is 11:2 and the seven lamps in Zech 4:1–4. If one understands an identification between “the seven spirits who are before his throne” and “the seven angels who stand before God” (8:2), then the Holy Spirit is much more prominent in Revelation than is typically understood. The title given for Jesus Christ is itself threefold: he is identified as the preeminent “faithful witness” (an important theme in Revelation), “the firstborn of the dead” (calling to mind the resurrection victory to encourage all who are facing physical death), “and the ruler of kings on earth” (emphasizing the reign of Christ that surpasses that of worldly rulers, including those of the Roman empire).
Vv 5b–8: A doxology to Jesus (vv 5b–7) and a first-person statement from the Father (v 8) follow immediately after John’s identification of the Trinity. Revelation 1:5b is one of the clearest proclamations of substitutionary atonement in this book: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” The prepositional phrase en tōi haimati autou locates the loosing of sins in the atoning blood that Jesus shed at the cross; it also foreshadows the vision of Jesus as the slaughtered Lamb in Revelation 5. This atoning sacrifice graciously makes us “a kingdom” greater than any world power as well as “priests” whose lives are wholly dedicated to the Lord, whatever our vocation (v 6). The doxology to Jesus continues with an eschatological warning that calls to mind Jesus coming in judgment (“he is coming with the clouds,” cf. Dan 7:13; “and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him,” cf. Zech 12:10–11). The first-person statement of the Lord God (Father) as the Alpha (First) and Omega (Last) in v 8 echoes the emphasis on the eternal nature of God introduced in v 4.
Vv 9–11: The most vivid part of this text, and central to the lectionary and preaching use of this text in the Easter season, is the vision of the risen Christ (vv 12–16) and his words that follow (vv 17–18). The setting for this first scene of John’s visionary experience is established in vv 9–11. Although we are not certain what or who brought John to the remote island of Patmos off the coast of Asia Minor, both the description here and Christian tradition indicate he was exiled; John is a “partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance,” who is on this island “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (v 9). He was “in the Spirit” (v 10; cf. Ezek 2:2) on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) when he hears the “voice like a trumpet” (the Holy Spirit), beckoning him to write.
Vv 12–13: The description of the risen Christ that follows is one of the most memorable scenes in Revelation. He is “in the midst [en mesōi] of the [seven golden] lampstands” (v 13; cf. Zech 4:2), which represent the seven churches (v 20). The prepositional phrase en mesōi is full of Gospel: Christ is truly present with his suffering Church on earth (Mt 28:20), not distant and detached. Although John could have described him whom he saw in various ways, he chose important phrases that identify the risen Christ with the visible form of YHWH in key Old Testament theophanies. In v 13, he describes Jesus as homoion huion anthrōpou (“[the] likeness [of a] son of man” [author’s translation]). This important phrase calls to mind both the glory of YHWH in Ezek 1:26 who is “the likeness in appearance of a man” (author’s translation; LXX homoiōma hōs eidos anthrōpou) and the “one like a son of man” (emphasis added; LXX hōs huios anthrōpou) in Dan 7:13. The phrase endedumenon podērē (“being clothed in a long flowing robe” [author’s translation; literally, “to the feet”]) in v 13b calls to mind the theophany of Isaiah’s call vision, where YHWH’s “train” fills the temple (6:1: wəshulayw male’im ’et-hahekal; the LXX has YHWH’s tēs doxēs, “glory,” filling the temple). The phrase kai periezōsmenon pros tois mastois zōnēn chrusan (“and tied around the chest with a golden girdle/sash” [author’s translation]) in v 13b calls to mind the glorious heavenly being of Dan 10:5 (LXX kai tēn osphun periezōsmenos bussinōi, but Theod. periezōsmenē en chrusiōi). The description of Christ’s eyes (v 14b) and his feet (v 15a) also identifies Christ with the glorious heavenly being of Dan 10:6. John’s use of the specific language of Daniel 10 in recording his vision of Christ indicates that he identified “the man” in Daniel 10 with the “one like a son of man” in Daniel 7 and understood this figure to be the preincarnate Son.
Vv 14–16: Especially noteworthy is the somewhat surprising description of Christ’s head in v 14a (hē de kephalē autou kai hai triches leukai hōs erion leukon hōs chiōn, “and his head and hair were white as wool, white as snow” [author’s translation]). This detail calls to mind Dan 7:9 and identifies the risen Christ as eternal and one with the “Ancient of days” who has hair like white wool (LXX to trichōma tēs kephalēs autou hōsei erion leukon). The description of Christ’s voice in v 15b (kai hē phōnē autou hōs phōnē hudatōn pollōn, “and his voice was as a voice of many waters” [author’s translation]), identifies him with the glory of YHWH (cf. Ezek 1:24; 43:2). The image of Christ protectively holding the seven stars in his hand (v 16a) is another powerful Gospel image: the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches (v 20), namely, the pastors (e.g., 2 Chron 36:15–16 states that prophets are angels/messengers; cf. Dan 12:3). The “sharp two-edged sword was coming out of his mouth” [author’s translation] is probably calling to mind the Servant of YHWH who has a mouth like a “sharp sword” (Is 49:2) and the messianic Branch who will “strike the earth with the rod of his mouth” (Is 11:4). Finally, the description of his face “like the sun shining in full strength” identifies the risen Christ with both the radiance of YHWH in the Old Testament (e.g., Ex 34:29–35) and the transfigured Jesus of the Gospels (e.g., Mt 17:2). Both the appearance of the risen Christ and the language that John used to record what he saw demonstrates that he fully identified the risen Christ with YHWH, who manifested himself to the Old Testament prophets.
Vv 17–18: Like with the prophets of old who saw YHWH, John drops to the ground in fear for his life. Instead of receiving death for seeing God (Ex 33:20), he hears Gospel words of life: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (vv 17b–18). The present imperative (mē phobou) has this nuance: “Stop the activity of fearing that is already going on.” Jesus’ title (“the first and the last”) identifies him as one with God (the Father), who is also known by a similar title (v 8). Furthermore, Jesus does not ignore or sidestep his death at Calvary, but proclaims it proudly (“I died”), because it is the basis for his resurrection victory (“I am alive forevermore”), which he offers to all (“I have the keys of Death and Hades”). No one, be he Satan or the Roman emperor, can hold death over the heads of those who belong to Christ, the living one and source of life. This truly gives John and each of us a legitimate reason to stop fearing!