Revelation 1:4b-8 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, dear friends:
Chances are that you have done it at least once in your
lifetime. Maybe it was because you were
old enough to get your first job. Maybe
it was because you were frustrated with the job you had at the time. Maybe it was because you didn’t have anything
better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Whatever the reason, there is a good chance that you have looked through
the employment section of the newspaper.
Imagine that you are doing just that after church
today. You are sitting in your chair
with coffee cup in hand. You
methodically work your way through the Sunday paper section by section until
you get to the want ads. As you scan the
positions available, one particular ad grabs your attention. In big, bold letters it reads: “HELP
WANTED: KING.”
You are intrigued (even if you are not qualified), and so
you read on. “Requirements: minimum of
two years of ruling experience. Must possess a regal
presence, great leadership skills and an ability to work with people. Send resumes to…” You get the idea.
It is ridiculous to think that anyone would place an ad for
such an important position, but it does cause us to think about an important
question: What does it take to be a
king? And what does it take to be a good
king?
On this Christ the King Sunday, we sing hymns like “Crown
Him with Many Crowns” in recognition that Jesus is our King. Because of what the Bible reveals about him,
because of what we believe about him, this royal title is well deserved.
But if Jesus’ ability to rule were ever called into
question, if Jesus was ever asked to prove why he deserves to be called a king,
the text for today would be a great place to start. In fact, Jesus could use these words revealed
to the apostle John as…
“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” (1:4b,5).
This is how John begins his letter to the seven churches in
the province of
There is so much that could be said about these verses, so
much that is worthy of our consideration, but today we focus specifically on
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, who happens to be mentioned
third in John’s list.
John uses three different phrases to describe Jesus. He calls him “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of
the kings of the earth.” Maybe John
was a little biased. After all, he was
one of the original disciples. And along
with Peter and James, he was a part of Jesus’ inner circle.
Jesus allowed John to see him in his glory on the Mount of
Transfiguration. Jesus had taken John to
pray with him in the
So maybe, just maybe, John was not being totally objective
when he heaped all kinds of praise on his Lord.
If the churches in
Ask Pontius Pilate if Jesus is indeed “the faithful witness.” In
the presence of the Roman governor, with his fate in Pilate’s hands, Jesus
never wavered. He didn’t beg for his life. He didn’t plead for mercy. He was a faithful witness to the truth.
“You are right in
saying that I am a king,” Jesus told Pilate. “In
fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to
testify to the truth. Everyone on the
side of truth listens to me” (John
Ask the women who came to Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning if
he was “the firstborn from the
dead.” As they approached the grave,
they expected the large stone at the entrance to be an obstacle, not the
evidence of a miracle. And when they got
to the tomb, they heard those angelic words, words that they probably repeated
hundreds of times, words that will be repeated until the end of time: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he
said” (Matthew 28:6).
Ask the apostle Paul if Jesus is really “the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Paul (Saul at the time) had a personal encounter with the risen Lord
on the way to
Paul saw the evidence of God’s love in his own life. Jesus also allowed Paul to see his power at
work in the lives of others. Through
Paul he healed diseases and drove out demons.
Through Paul’s preaching he brought hundreds, even thousands, to faith
All of these miracles, all of these conversions, all of
these blessings led Paul to acknowledge that Jesus is a great and glorious
king, that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth, that “God has placed all things under his feet
and appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
About a generation ago you needed at least a high school
diploma to get a decent job. Not long
after that a college degree became the standard for entry level employment in
many companies. And if you wanted to
advance your career, you needed to earn an advanced degree in your field.
These academic standards have progressed to the point that
now it is not unusual for a person to hold degrees in a number of different
fields. I attended the Christian Life
Resources National Convention this past September, and one of the speakers
there had a medical degree, a law degree and a master’s in biochemistry.
This concept may be relatively new to us, but it is nothing
new to our Savior. Today we acknowledge
Jesus as the ruler of all. He is our king, but he is so much more. As God’s faithful witness, Jesus is our prophet. He speaks to us today. He speaks to us through his Word. As the firstborn of the dead, Jesus is our priest.
He sacrificed his life on the cross.
He sacrificed his life for the sins of the world. As our prophet, priest and king, Jesus is
uniquely qualified to be the ruler of all.
“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” (5b-6). You are probably familiar with John
3:16: “For God so loved the world…” God
loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us.
Listen carefully to what John says about the Son: “To him who loves us…” Jesus loves
us. It isn’t like young people who
fall in and out of love. Love isn’t an
emotion that cools off over time. Jesus
loved us enough to become one of us, and two thousand years later he still
loves us.
In pictures and stories, kings are depicted as strong and
courageous. They fear nothing. They fear no one. But can you recall a story about a king’s
love for his subjects? As strange as
that sounds, that is exactly how Christ our king feels about us. And his loving attitude translates into
loving actions.
“To him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by his blood…”
Jesus isn’t the kind of ruler who stays home while he sends his
troops into battle. Jesus went to the
front lines for us. Jesus battled sin
and Satan for us. Christ the King paid
the ultimate price for the people of his kingdom. And instead of planting his flag on the
battlefield to declare victory, Jesus lifted up a cross,
Jesus himself was lifted up on the cross to save us.
Most kings are jealous of their authority, and with good
reason. The pages of history are filled
with plots to assassinate kings and overthrow kingdoms. This is one more way our King is unique. He isn’t consumed with his own power. He isn’t obsessed with
self-preservation. Jesus “has made us to be a kingdom and priests to
serve his God and Father.”
Christ the King has made us a kingdom and he calls his subjects
to action. We are called to worship, to
witness, to speak the truth in love, to encourage each other, to bear each
other’s burdens, to pray on all occasions, to pray for our enemies, to be
cheerful givers.
But when a Christian hears a long list like that, it can feel a bit overwhelming. “Wow. I am supposed to do all that. I don’t have enough time to do the things I am already responsible for. I can’t possibly add anything more.” And then the guilt sets in.
Sometimes guilt serves a good purpose. In the same way that pain signals a physical
problem, sometimes guilt reveals a spiritual problem. Do I spend my time wisely? Do I reach out to others? Am I a good steward of all the blessings God
has given me? Or do my attitudes and
actions show that the real king in my life is me?
There is a remedy for guilt.
It isn’t trying to cram more activities into an already busy
schedule. It isn’t as easy as increasing
your weekly offerings by 3 or 5 or 10%.
You won’t get rid of all feelings of guilt in your life if you just try
harder to do all the things mentioned before.
The key to guilt reduction can be found in one little word,
“called.” God has called you to faith in
His Son. God has called you to serve
with His Son. The King of heaven and earth
and everything in between wants you to help him do his work. What a privilege! What an honor! What an opportunity!
If his impeccable references and unique qualifications were
not enough, our Savior has also consented to a personal interview. Jesus’ first words in Revelation are recorded
in the last verse of our text: “I am the
Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty”
(8).
Jesus doesn’t call himself a king, but the title he uses to
describe himself is a fitting one for Christ the King Sunday. On this, the last Sunday of the church year,
we hail Jesus as the eternal, unchangeable supreme ruler of all. When we meet again next Sunday, we enter a
new church year and prepare our hearts during the Advent season to receive our
King again.
The seasons of the year are changing. The seasons of the church year are
changing. But today we pause to
celebrate the fact that one thing will never change. Christ is our King, now and forever. Amen.