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Bethel Lutheran Church - Pastor Luke Bernthal
Soli Deo Gloria

Jesus, Our Wonderful King ; Revelation 1: 4 - 8; 2009-11-22

Eternal
Unchanging
Almighty

Text: Revelation 1: 4 - 8;
4 John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

In our country the thought of having a king rule over us seems a bit strange. In fact, if you were to take a poll I doubt that very many people in the U.S. would say that they’d rather be ruled by a king than keep the form of government that we have in this country. We like having the right to vote; the privilege of electing our leaders, and having a say in some of the laws that are made. We’re also not too comfortable with the thought of having someone with absolute authority, like a king, ruling over us either. However, like it or not, we do have a king ruling over us—over everyone, no matter what country they live in! That King, is of course, Jesus. The good news is when we take a look at this King we have ruling over us we will realize very quickly that we simply could not have a better King than Jesus! This morning, on this, the last Sunday of the church year, we celebrate the rule of Jesus, Our Wonderful King. Let’s remind ourselves of just what kind of King we have ruling over us, and why the Bible calls Jesus the “King of Kings” – He is 1) Eternal, 2) Unchanging, and 3) Almighty!

Jesus, Our Wonderful King is 1) Eternal. He describes Himself in our text, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…who is and who was and who is to come” (v. 8). Notice, that last phrase was also used for God the Father in the first verse of our text: “who is and who was and who is to come” (v. 4). It is a phrase that can only be used for God. He alone is eternal. That means Jesus is more than just the “beginning and the end,” He actually has no beginning and no end! I’ve always said that if your god or your religion has a “beginning” it’s false! You can trace all other religions of the world back to a starting point, or back to the one who “founded” that particular religion—Islam, even the very ancient religions of Hinduism, and Buddhism all have a “beginning.” Only the Triune God of the Bible—the true God—goes back even before “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1). Jesus, the Son of God, therefore is also eternal.

He is the beginning of all things, and He is the end of all things. For our text also reminds us that Jesus will come again in judgment at the end of the world, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen” (v. 7). He’s not just the God “who is and who was” He’s also the God “who is to come” (v. 8). Even though the unbelieving heathen nations of this earth “will mourn because of Him” (v. 7) when He returns in judgment, for us believers it will be a day of rejoicing! For Jesus, “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (v. 8), is also the “beginning and the end” of our faith! The book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He’s the one who has brought us to faith through His Gospel message and the power of His Holy Spirit. Through that same Holy Spirit, working through the Word and the Sacraments, Jesus will keep us in that saving faith until the Last Day when He comes again. That is a day we and all believers look forward to: the return of our King! In one of the last verses of Revelation Jesus declares, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. John then responds on behalf of all of Christ’s Church, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

The verses of our text not only stress the fact that Jesus, Our Wonderful King is 1) eternal, but also another one of His attributes that’s closely connected with His eternal nature: He is 2) unchanging. This is a very important attribute of our King. Think of how inconsistent and fickle we are. We change our minds constantly. We don’t always treat people the same way every time. We don’t always keep our promises. Our mood often affects what we say and do to, and for, other people. What we say and do for other people usually also depends on what they’ve said and done for us; how they’ve treated us. If Jesus had our attributes of inconsistency and partiality how much trouble would we be in? If Jesus based what He would do for us—or not do—and how He would treat us on how we treat Him, what do you think we’d have coming to us? Well, the Bible tells us we’d all have “hell to pay”—literally (cf. Romans 6:23).

Thankfully, Jesus does not operate that way towards us. He is our gracious King who is absolutely unchanging. Think of the comfort that brings us! Look again at verse five of our text: Here it says Jesus is “the ruler over the kings of the earth” and that He “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (v. 5). In the English we simply translate that word “loved” in Greek with a past tense, which, unfortunately could lead us to believe that Jesus just “loved” us in the past. However, the Greek verb here uses a tense that has a “linear” or continual sense. That means that this phrase could be translated, “To Him who loves us and keeps on loving us…” This very thought is repeated in a number of other places in Scripture; passages that we should treasure deep in our hearts and minds to remind us how loving and unchanging our King, Jesus is. The LORD says to His people in Jeremiah, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love!” (Jeremiah 31:3). The book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is not only “unchanging” He is “unchangeable!” “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

How can we be sure of this love? How did Jesus prove His love is unchanging and eternal? Verse five of our text goes on to say that He “washed us from our sins”—not in the blood of a lamb or a goat, but “in His own blood” (v. 5). He sealed the promise of His unchanging love for us “in His own blood” which He shed for you on the cross! That blood was, in a sense, also our “anointing oil,” which, our text goes on to tell us, “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (v. 6). Jesus, the “King of Kings” has made us “kings and priests” in His kingdom through His shed blood!

Why did He do this for us? Our text says He “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (v. 6). In other words, to serve God. That is why He made us “kings and priests:” to serve God and praise and worship Him. The Apostle Peter reminds us, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). For this “washing” and “anointing” “in His own blood” Jesus certainly deserves our praise, as John writes in our text, “to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (v. 6b).

So, we’ve established that Jesus is the 1) eternal King and that He is 2) unchanging. But an unending rule really wouldn’t mean much if the king didn’t really have any power. Jesus, our King, isn’t called the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16) for nothing! Jesus has ALL power. Jesus concludes our text by calling Himself, “the Almighty” (v. 8). That word in Greek literally means “all power.” It is a “designation for God as the One holding all power and ruling all things” (Friberg Greek Dictionary. Bible Works 4.0). That is another attribute of Christ, our King: He is 3) Almighty.

Think about what that means for us. It means that we have the all-powerful ruler of heaven and earth on our side, fighting for us and working all things out for our good! It means that every enemy—the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh—doesn’t stand a chance, and in fact, have all been defeated in the death and resurrection of Jesus! As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39). Later on in the Book of Revelation we are told that the devil and all his forces of evil “will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). We are “more than conquerors” through Christ, our King! “The Lamb will overcome them [our enemies]” and so will “those who are with Him”—that’s us! How then shall we live? Like victorious “kings and priests” in the kingdom of the victorious 1) eternal, 2) unchanging, and 3) almighty “King of Kings!”

Think of how confidently we can live now with all our enemies defeated by Christ’s cross—no fear of death, or even hell itself! Think of how freely we can love Him and our fellow man now with all our sins paid for and “washed…in His own blood” (v. 5). Think of how joyfully we can serve the one “who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6).