The Present Christ
Sermon Manuscript
We are starting our Advent series and we will be in Revelation chapters 1, 5, 12, and 21. And it is Revelation and not Revelations. John received one revelation from Jesus. So, why Revelation? Advent means coming. So, every Advent, the church is celebrating the coming of Christ. You can certainly do this by looking at the gospels, which we have done, but Revelation gives us a unique look at Christ presently in chapter 1, Christ who conquered in chapter 5, Christ who rules in chapter 12, and Christ who will come in chapter 21. So you actually cover the present inter-advent period, the first coming of Christ, and the second coming of Christ. We get four camera angles instead of just one.
Now, we need to understand that Revelation can’t mean something different to us than the original audience. It wasn’t written just for people thousands of years later who will be here at Jesus’ second coming. It was written just as much for the people living in the day John wrote it. Revelation is what is called apocalyptic literature which means that it looks forward into the future to provide comfort in the present.
This week, we will be looking at chapter one where we see that Christ is not only the One who came and will come again, but we see Christ who is very much present now. It’s easy to think of Jesus during his earthly life very present with His disciples or Jesus extremely present when He comes back in full glory to make all things new, but right now…He can feel a bit more distant. Kind of like a husband who has gone off to fight a war. He was with his wife and he will be back one day, but right now, he’s just kind of off doing something really important, but she doesn’t really know what.
Well, in this first chapter we see quite the opposite. We see Jesus in His current glory in heaven, but very much still present with us. And we see Him presently reigning as our Speaking Prophet, as our Interceding Priest, and as our Reigning King. All in this relatively short passage.
- Speaking Prophet
The passage begins with an introduction from John. 9 I, John, your brother and zpartner in athe tribulation and bthe kingdom and cthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos don account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. We don’t know for certain how John got to the island of Patmos, but a very early Christian tradition that was widely spread throughout the churches claims that John was arrested and taken to Rome where they boiled him alive, but he miraculously not only did not die, but was unharmed. They were so freaked out that they banished him to Patmos. That could be true, but we can’t be certain. What we do know from John’s own words is that he was forced on that island because of his loyalty to Jesus and His word. That’s what makes John a ‘partner in the tribulation’ with all the other persecuted Christians of his day.
John says that he was in the spirit on the Lord’s day when Jesus spoke to him in a loud voice like a trumpet. It was Sunday, the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s day and John was not having a dream, he was not just meditating, he was in a heightened, God-given state. He had somehow been liberated from the shackles of time and space and he is alone with Jesus which is where he received this revelation. It seems very similar to what happened to Ezekiel and Daniel.
This is where we see Jesus as our Speaking Prophet. So, what is a prophet? Someone who speaks for God in hopes of confronting, comforting, or correcting the church. Only here we don’t see someone speaking on behalf of God, Jesus is speaking as God Himself to the Church to confront, comfort, and correct seven churches. Jesus said to John, “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.” These are what are now known as the seven letters of Revelation that I’ve already taught and you can find them online, but in them Jesus does confront, comfort, and correct. And the reason there are seven churches is because seven is the number of perfection which means that these seven messages apply to all the churches that would ever exist. You can’t get any more prophetic than this! Jesus giving a message to John, in the Spirit, to record both for these churches and for all of us.
A prophet speaks and Jesus is still very much speaking to us today. He’s speaking through these very words we are reading. He’s speaking clearly through His Word. So, as we begin advent, I just want to ask one question: are we listening? It’s not lost on me that John is in a state of supreme solitude and silence worshiping when this revelation comes.
Jesus has said and is saying everything we need to hear. Jesus who spoke light into the ancient darkness is doing the very same thing for us today. The question isn’t if He’s speaking, the question is are we listening. Are we turning down the cultural noise? Are we confessing and repenting of sin that keeps us from hearing? Are we making time to read these words of Scripture ourselves? Are we making time for those words to go from our mind and into our heart through prayer, silence, and solitude? Jesus is speaking, so what would it look like to make just one or two rhythm changes this Advent to create a better posture of listening? He is our Speaking Prophet, but secondly, He’s also our Interceding Priest.
- Interceding Priest
This brings us to the moment John turns and sees the voice that was speaking to him. And there was Jesus. And this is the only physical description we have of Jesus in the whole Bible. It isn’t the blue eyed, brown haired Jesus that got popularized during World War II. That portrait by the way was not an attempt at historical accuracy. It was made to reflect 20th century American artistic ideals and not first century Jewish features. It was made to reflect Jesus’ comfort and compassion, but not his holiness and righteousness.
Here we get a very different description of Jesus. A description that highlights Jesus as our Great High Priest. Jesus appears wearing the long robe and golden sash of Israel’s high priest. The Greek word for ‘robe’ used here is the same term used for the high priest’s garments in the Old Testament and the golden sash marks Him not as an ordinary priest, but as the High Priest Himself. The imagery would have been as clear to the original audience as a cape on a superhero to us.
His white hair reveals divine wisdom. His flaming eyes expose all things. His bronze feet show that He cannot be moved unless He wants to move. His thunderous voice carries sovereign power. In His hands he holds the seven stars which He says is Him upholding the pastors of the seven churches. Your Bibles say ‘angels’, but that word simply means messengers and in context, it most certainly means those shepherding the churches. Out of his mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword showing the power of His word to both save and judge. And I particularly love that this face was like the sun shining in full strength.
You can’t look directly at the sun. Everytime there is a solar eclipse what is the main thing the news is telling us? Don’t look directly at it! You would think we would know that. Fun fact, the next solar eclipse happening directly over Orlando is on my 64th birthday:) And I already know not to look directly at it. In the same way, Jesus’ face shining like the full sun reveals the unveiled glory of the divine Son. His divinity is no longer veiled as it was during His earthly ministry. John sees the radiant, life-giving, joy-bringing, awe-inspiring Son who is both terrifying in holiness and tender in love.
It’s interesting that in Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew 17, Matthew records that Jesus’ face shone like the sun. And John was there for that moment! Now, John sees the risen Christ, our High Priest, in His full glory. John gives us seven descriptions for Jesus. Another seven. Showing His holiness and completeness as our High Priest.
So what is the role of a high priest? To intercede between man and God. And what is Jesus doing here? Standing among the lampstands…the very objects priests tended daily in the temple…and Jesus tells John that these lampstands represent the seven churches. Jesus is walking among His churches. He is correcting, strengthening, and sustaining their light. This whole scene is preaching a message: The risen Christ is our living, active High Priest, present with His people and faithfully interceding for and tending to them.
Jesus here is tending the lamps, trimming the wicks, and sustaining the flame of His people. This is what He is currently doing for us. In advent, we aren’t only celebrating baby Jesus who came to earth, but also His ongoing presence with us. The baby in the manger grew into the High Priest who never leaves His church. We wait, but we don’t wait alone. Our Great High Priest is walking the aisle of His gathered people.
If you’re here today and you feel lonely, overwhelmed, or even scared. Jesus is tending to you right now. Remember John is receiving this vision while exiled, cut off from his friends, his ministry, and pretty much every aspect of his normal life. He is alone on Patmos when heaven opens. It wasn’t in a moment of great strength, but weakness and isolation. And the very first thing John sees is Jesus walking among the lampstands…moving in the midst of His churches with priestly care, His hair and eyes radiating wisdom and understanding, and a hand strong enough to hold the leaders John was most concerned about.
This scene John recorded is a word for anyone who feels forgotten, unseen, or overwhelmed. Jesus is not distant from our suffering. He draws near to them. His presence is not abstract, but attentive. His eyes of fire see not only sin to judge, but pain to comfort. His voice, like many waters, speaks over the lies our fear and despair tell us. His steady, glowing feet stand firm when ours cannot. John’s exile becomes the place of God’s revelation and, in a sense, so can ours. When we feel cut off, Jesus is among us. When we feel weak, His right hand holds us. When we feel afraid, His face shines upon us. Revelation one doesn’t merely show us a glorious Christ, it shows us a present Interceding High Priest.
- Reigning King
It’s so interesting that John knew Jesus well. John refers to himself as the one Jesus loved. At the Last Supper John laid his head on Jesus’ shoulder. When Jesus was on the cross, he made provisions for John to take care of Mary saying, “Behold your son.” Jesus and John were incredibly close. But, John doesn’t run and hug Jesus. Verse 17 says that John fell at his feet as though dead. Why did John do this? Because that is how you respond to the Heavenly King. Jesus’ intention was to comfort, not terrify, but his holiness and authority demands this response.
So much of Western Christianity reduces Jesus into a kind of cosmic concierge. Someone who exists to smooth our paths, fulfill our wishes, and endorse our plans. He becomes a spiritual errand boy or a therapeutic assistant. We imagine Him primarily as the One who answers our prayers quickly, blesses our endeavors, solves our problems, and helps us feel better about ourselves. And when He doesn’t do those things on our timetable, we feel neglected and even offended, as though He has failed in His duties to us. As the kids say these days, “Don’t shrink Him down like that.”
Revelation one destroys that domesticated idea of Jesus. John, who knew Jesus as intimately as any human ever has, does not describe a tame, manageable Savior. He doesn’t say, “I saw my old buddy, Jesus!” He sees the Son of Man of Daniel 7 and he falls at His feet as though dead. This is not a Jesus who exists to execute our plans. This is the Jesus who evaluates our lives, directs the church, disciplines with authority, and stands as King over all things.
John’s vision confronts us with a Jesus we cannot manage, manipulate, or fit into our therapeutic frameworks. The risen Christ is not a genie in a bottle. He is the blazing center of all reality. He is not here to serve our agenda, we exist to bow before His. His purpose is not primarily to make our lives easier, but to make our souls holy. Revelation one reorders the universe around Christ and forces us to confess: He is not the errand boy of our desires, He is the Lord of glory who walks among His churches with sovereign, searching, and comforting power.
I hesitated to use this quote because it is so overused, but it’s overused because it’s so good. In The Chronicles of Narnia when the children first hear about Aslan, they ask the Beavers the most natural question: “Is he safe?” And Mr. Beaver famously replies, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.” John does not meet a safe house broken Jesus, He meets Jesus who is infinitely powerful and good. He’s not tame, but He is trustworthy. He’s not manageable, but He is merciful.
Then the King put his right hand on John and said the most kingly thing a king ever said, “Fear not, xI am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. yI died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and zI have the keys of Death and Hades. - Rev 1:17b,18 You can see Jesus’ goodness right off the bat. Fear not. He wants to comfort John. But His royal authority is as clear as it can be. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I have the keys of Death and Hades. Hades here doesn’t mean hell or the grave. It means the state of disembodied existence that results when life ceases and when the body and soul are separated. Hades did not hold the Son of Man and it will not hold us either.
Just put yourself in the shoes of the persecuted Christians of the late first century. Most of them would have known people who had been arrested and even killed for their faith. And here is the King who has authority over power and death so that death cannot injure the believer. In fact, death is now considered gain both for the kingdom and for the believer.
Life in this world will be hard. And in some cases, it will be even harder for believers who stay faithful to Jesus. And, yes, Jesus is with us comforting us through every trial, but His end goal is to bring us to a world where there is no sin and there are no trials. A world where we only know the love of the King.
We live in the inter-advent period. The time between the first coming of Jesus and the second. We live looking back at the first and looking forward to the second. Advent trains the church to live by a different story than the world around us. The world around us thinks about the end of time and has a sense of dread or anxiety. But Christians wait differently. Advent is not a season of panic, it is a season of anticipation. It isn’t something we brace for with dread, it is something we long for with joy… because the One who is coming is the same One who has already come for us in love.
I mentioned this in a previous sermon, but I read a book this summer called The Fledgling. It is a really great true story about growing up on the outer islands of the Abacos in the 20’s and 30’s. The author was a young boy then and his dad was a sailor. A bootlegger actually. But, there was obviously no way of communicating with the boat so every time a ship could be seen in the distance, they would go to the highest point of the island or on top of houses or even to the top of the lighthouse to get a better look. They didn’t know if that ship was friendly, neutral, or possibly even hostile until they could see the flag. But once he could see the flag of his father’s ship, he was overcome with joy and anticipation. The ship wasn’t ambiguous, it wasn’t hostile, it was bringing his father.
That is the posture of advent. The world sees the future with uncertainty or even dread. We see the future and feel recognition and hope. The One coming toward us is not a stranger, He’s not an enemy, and He’s not a threat. He’s the King who bought us with His blood. He’s the Prophet who speaks life-giving words. And He’s the High Priest who walks among His lampstands, keeping us and comforting us between this day and that one.
So, we can have courage in a contentious world. We can have joy in the face of loss. We can be calm in the noise. We can do that because Jesus has already come to save us. He is going to come back and restore us. But right now, he is presently loving, caring, and interceding for everyone who puts their faith in Him. Jesus is a divine present for us who is divinely present with us.
