This Easter morning we begin a fresh series of messages called "Portraits of Hope." A portrait is a picture or representation of something significant, such as a person. All the presidents of the United States have had portraits of themselves painted.
Many young people have senior portraits done. Lara’s senior portrait was sixteen inches by twenty inches and was proudly hung by her parents in their dining room. My senior portrait was a meager eight inches by ten inches and was hung in obscurity, down a hallway. Lara’s picture has since been removed. An even larger portrait of her mother’s dog, Lucy, can be found in their television room. I thinkLara's parents still love her! I’m only kidding!
Portraits aren’t neutral things, as we might suspect. Portraits make a statement about reality. They make a statement about a person or thing. Portraits can portray someone positively or negatively, accurately or inaccurately, completely or incompletely. They can be like a caricature which exaggerates one or two distinct characteristics. A portrait can be a loose sketch or a complete distortion.
The Americanized Christ
In each of our hearts and minds we’ve collected our very own gallery of portraits. This exclusive gallery of portraits depicts our understanding of who Christ is, or was. In his book The American Jesus Stephen Prothero dares to explore some of the more popular and Americanized portraits of Christ.
For some, Christ was an enlightened sage. He was nothing more than a great moral teacher who once lived, but has since passed on into history. For some, Christ was a sweet and gentle savior. He was soft and submissive andalmost feminine with his long flowing hair, unblemished skin, smooth hands, and mild appearance. For others, Christ was a manly redeemer, a man’s man. He was toughened by the elements, disciplined by pain, strengthened through endless hardship, and driven by mission.
We accumulate these portraits of Christ throughoutour livesand hang them up in our personal galleries. What portraits of Christ have you hung in your gallery? How accurately do they portray the real Christ? Do your images of Christ move you? Do they change you?
This morning we begin a series of messages through the book of Revelation. You can think of Revelation as a gallery of portraits being paraded before your very eyes. Each image makes a bold statement about ultimate reality and about Christ. But these portraits are not like any other portrait we’ve ever seen or imagined. They defy imagination. They transcend logic and words and description. They're infinite and eternal. There is no attempt in Revelation to sentence these dazzling portraits to a prison of words. Each image points to realities far beyond our limited scope of comprehension.
So we must be patient as we walk through the gallery of portraits in Revelation. We must possess a special kind of humility. Some of the images are moving and some are deeply disturbing. Some have immediate relevance to our lives while others leave us with more questions than answers. Many defy our safe, convenient explanations.
Each of the portraits in Revelation gives hope to the Christian.
One thing is for certain. Each portrait gives hope to the Christian. Each portrait reminds us that God is sovereign, that he is at work in our world, that his purposes can never be thwarted by the evil one, and that all things work to the good of those who love God. Do we have the courage to survey the gallery of images presented in Revelation?
The book of Revelation begins without much fanfare. A blessing is pronounced to all who hear the words of this book,who see what the apostle John saw, and then take it to heart. Revelation 1:1-3 (NIV) begins, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
What is it that God wants to show us? What must, "soon take place"? What images or portraits was the apostle John shown? What is the word of God? What is the testimony of Christ about the things that lay in the, "near" future?
Revelation gives us the ending of Christ's story.
Whenever I read a book, I enjoy the suspense of the plot line. I will never flip to the end of a book and read the final pages to see how the story ends. Now Lara, she’ll read the last pages to see how a story ends. For her, knowing the end adds to the enjoyment of the book. It helps her to cope with the twists and turns in the plot that happen along the way.
As it is, there are enough twists and turns in the drama of life. The portraits of hope in Revelation are written so that the believer can be assured of the future. They are written so that the believer can be prepared and always encouraged. They are written so that we can have deeper confidence in Christ. When we know the end, it’s infinitely easier to cope with the past and the present.
For the early believers to whom John writes, their real life drama was about life and death. They were being persecuted and martyred by the Roman emperor for their faith. Was God still in control? Would there be justice? Would there be reward for suffering? Was righteousness all worth it in the end? Was the Christ alive and reigning on his throne? What had come of those who had paid the ultimate price for their faith? Was heaven real or was it an empty hope?
A story is just a story. But when it's your story and it's your life that is on the line, these kind of questions become your questions. Then show us, Lord! Revelation brings the future into the present for us.
John shows us the living, resurrected Christ.
The apostle John re-introduces us to the living, resurrected Christ. Revelation 1:4-8 (NIV) says, "John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.' "
As believers, we are to be encouraged by three simple facts concerning Christ. First, Jesus is the Christ who is. Second, Jesus Christ is the Christ who was. Third, he is the Christ who is to come again. These three simple facts are repeated twice in our passage above. In Revelation 1:4 (NIV) which says, "Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come...." and again in Revelation 1:8 (NIV) which says, " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.' "
Christ is the Alpha and the Omega.
The portrait of Christ that emerges in these verses is that Christ is the Alpha and Omega. The alpha was the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The omega was the last letter. Christ is the A to Z of all reality. The beginning and the end. Christ isn’t some clock maker who wound up a clock we call time and then stepped away. From beginning to end, Christ is intimately involved in his creation and in our world.
The Christ who is.
First we should consider the Christ who is. This is the essence of our Easter celebration. Christ didn’t just die on a cross two thousand years ago. He arose again and he lives!
Revelation 1:5 (NIV) describes Jesus in the present tense. Jesus is, "the faithful (supreme) witness" for God who was put to death on account of his testimony about God. He is the, "firstborn from(among) the dead" who, though crucified for this testimony, was vindicated by God when he was raised from the grave on the third day. He is the, "ruler of the kings of the earth" who has triumphed over the power of sin and death and who has crushed the head of Satan and who reigns in heaven for eternity. He is the one, "who loves us". Christ has never stopped loving us, nor will he ever stop loving us.
The Christ who was.
Second, he is the Christ who was. This is the essence of our Good Friday celebration. What was God doing back there at Calvary as he was crucified between two thieves? Revelation 1:5 (NIV) says, "… he has freed us from our sins by his blood." Revelation 1:6 (NIV) says, "(he) has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be the glory for ever and ever."
On Calvary we were set free from the power of sin and death. We were set free from the domination and kingdom of Satan. On Calvary, through Christ, we came under the lordship of a new king. This new king is Jesus Christ himself. We, the Church, are his kingdom. We, the Church, are God’s priests, ministering and serving on his behalf in the world. It is through us, the Church, that God glorifies himself in heaven. That is our purpose!
The Christ who is to come.
Third, he is the Christ who is to come. This is the essence of our communion celebration. As we partake of the elements, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. Revelation 1:7-8 (NIV) tells us, "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.' "
The Christ who is and the Christ who was, is about to appear again. The first time Christ appeared the world mocked him and chanted "crucify." But when Christ returns again, all the peoples of earth will mourn for having pierced him with their sins. When Christ returns, every one of us will be held accountable for our sins. That’s really good news if Christ’s blood has washed away your sins. It's really bad news if through unbelief, your sins remain.
The Christ we will one day face.
The first chapter of Revelation ends with a sober reflection of what it will be like to face the the Lord one day. Consider what is was like for the apostle John to face the Christ. Revelation 1:9-18 (NIV) says, "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. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: 'Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.' I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.' "
There is much that can be said about the portrait of Christ revealed in these verses.
We're told at the end of Revelation 1that the seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia minor. Christ doesn’t reign from afar. He walks amongst the lampstands, amongst his Church. He is ever-present and near. He is never far away from us. He is the, "son of man" who represents both man and God.
With his long flowing robe and golden sash, he is our great high priest through whom we fellowship with God. His head and hair, white like wool and as white as snow, are deliberately reminiscent of the Ancient of Days who hid his face from Moses on Mount Sinai. His eyes are like blazing fire, penetrating the depths of the human heart and judging its secrets. His feet are like bronze glowing in a furnace. Forged in a furnace, carefully fashioned to crush all God’s enemies under his feet.
His voice is roaring like rushing waters, awesome and unmistakable. Like a sharp double-edged sword, his words are penetrating to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And in his hands? The power to uphold the entire universe, to uphold his Church. And his face? Like the sun shining in all its brilliance, pure and holy, driving out all darkness before it. And the apostle John? Falling at Christ’s feet as though dead.
The resurrected Christ says, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."
How well does your portrait of Christ match up to that of the Living One? The Alpha and Omega?
Communion meditation.
As we take communion, reflect upon the Christ who is coming again. 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (NIV) tells us, "I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
"Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."