Jesus Revealed: Part 1
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/10/2012
Jesus. There is no other name in heaven or on earth that is more loved, more revered or more controversial than Jesus.
At first glance, Jesus’ résumé is rather simple. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his hometown. He never wrote a book, never held a political office, never married, never had sex, never went to college, never visited a big city, and never even won a poker tournament.
Nevertheless, Jesus is the most famous person in all of history. More songs have been sung to him, artwork created of him, and books written about him than anyone who has ever lived. In fact, Jesus looms so large over human history that we actually measure time by him; we date our letters, our birth certificates, our checks, and everything else from the year of his birth.
And everyone seems to have an opinion about him. Jesus once asked his disciples, “Who are the people saying I am?” (Matthew 16:13 TLB). They gave a variety of answers and they still do today. In fact, BluefishTV took to the streets asking bystanders the question “Who is Jesus?” Listen to some of their answers.
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Mormons believe Jesus to be the spirit-brother of Lucifer. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that he’s the Archangel Michael. Muslims claim that he was a prophet of Allah, but certainly not the Son of God. With so many conflicting opinions about Christ, I thinks its best that we turn to someone who actually knew him—John.
You and I only read about the hands that fed the thousands. Not John. He saw them—knuckled fingers, callused palms. He saw them. You and I only read about the feet that found a footpath through the waves. Not John. John saw them—sandaled, ten-toed, and sopping wet. You and I only read about his eyes—his flashing eyes, his fiery eyes, his weeping eyes. Not John. John saw them. For three years John followed Christ. He had seen Jesus countless times. Then one Sunday morning about three decades after Jesus was crucified on a hill outside Jerusalem, John saw Jesus again. But this encounter was far different from any in Galilee. The image so vivid, the impression so powerful, John was knocked to his knees. Here’s how he describes it:
“It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast… When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.” (Revelation 1:10-17 NLT)
Wow. What are we to make of such an image? If you’re puzzled by what we just read, you’re not alone. First of all, keep in mind that what John wrote is not what he saw. What he wrote is like what he saw. Hair like wool, eyes like fire, feet like bronze, a voice like oceans, a face like the sun. The implication is—the human tongue is inadequate to describe Christ. But it isn’t what John saw that I want you to pay close attention to; rather, it’s what he heard.
Placing a compassionate hand on John’s shoulder, Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:17-18 NLT).
These words—the first red-letters of Revelation—reveal to us who Jesus really is.
• JESUS IS AGELESS
First, Jesus is ageless. He told John, “I am the First and the Last.” Jesus repeats this moniker at the end of Revelation with a little more flare when he says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13 NLT). In other words, Jesus is, always was and always will be.
It was Groucho Marx who said “Although it is generally known, I think it’s about time to announce that I was born at a very early age.” That’s true of all of us. But not Jesus. When he was born, he was already as old as time. His life didn’t begin in a manger in Bethlehem. In fact, Jesus makes several pre-incarnate cameos throughout the Old Testament. He blesses Abraham (Genesis 14), he wrestles with Jacob (Genesis 32), he’s worshipped by Joshua as the Lord of Heaven’s Armies (Joshua 5), he speaks to Isaiah in the temple (Isaiah 6), and he appears in the fiery furnace alongside Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3).
So, you see, Jesus has been around the block. In fact, he’s been around since before there was a block. Earlier, John wrote, “Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God” (John 1:1 TLB). In other words, Jesus is eternal. And eternity can be difficult concept to wrap our minds around.
A young college girl once gave her boyfriend a picture of herself with an inscription on the back. It read: “My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity!” It was signed “Diane.” Under that it said, “p.s. If we ever break up, I want this picture back.” I don’t think she understood eternity too well!
On the other hand, regardless of how well we comprehend it, we can take comfort in Christ’s divine, enteral nature. I think Billy Graham may have said it best, when he wrote, “Jesus was not just another great religious teacher, nor was he only another in a long line of individuals seeking after spiritual truth. He was, instead, truth itself. He was God incarnate.” That’s who Jesus is. Jesus is ageless—the first and the last.
• JESUS IS ALIVE
Furthermore, Jesus is alive. Let’s take another look at that verse. With compassion and confidence, Jesus says, “I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever!” (Revelation 1:17 NLT).
The most important distinction between Jesus and all other religious leaders is his death and resurrection. Both Buddha and Muhammad got sick and died. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was shot and killed. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of Baha'i, died in his sleep at the Mansion of Bahjí. Every other religious leader has been burned or buried and no one claims otherwise—not even their followers.
When it comes to Jesus, however, the messages are different. According to all fourteen authors and twenty-seven books of the New Testament, Jesus didn’t stay in his tomb. On the third day following his death, his got up and walked out of his grave!
A Sunday School teacher had just finished telling her kindergarten class the Easter story. Then, wanting to share the excitement of the resurrection, she asked: “And what do you think were Jesus’ first words when He came bursting out of that tomb alive?” A hand shot up into the air. Attached to it was the arm of a little girl. Leaping out of her chair she shouted out, “I know, I know!” So the teacher said, “Good. Tell us, what were Jesus first words?” Extending her arms high into the air she said: “TA-DA!”
I don’t think those were his exact words, but they might as well have been! Jesus’ resurrection was the single great feat ever accomplished. The apostle Paul wrote, “Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him” (Romans 6:9 TLB).
Over the centuries, skeptics have proposed several alternative theories about what happened to the body of Jesus, but the best explanation for all the evidence is that God did in fact raise Jesus from the dead. Ignatius, who was a pupil of the apostle John and martyred for his faith, wrote about Jesus, saying, “He was condemned: He was crucified in reality, and not in appearance, not in imagination, not in deceit. He really died, and was buried, and rose from the dead.” Christ’s resurrection is the central idea upon which Christianity rises or falls. If it is true that Jesus defeated death to live an eternal life, then it follows that everything else that Jesus said about himself must also be true; which means, not only is Jesus alive forever, but we can live forever too.
That idea brings us to one last revealed truth about Jesus.
• JESUS IS AUTHORITATIVE
Jesus is ageless, Jesus is alive, and—finally—Jesus is authoritative. The last statement Jesus made about himself to John was this: “I hold the keys to death and to the place of the dead” (Revelation 1:18 HCSB). In other words, Jesus alone has the authority to unlock the realm of the dead and give you eternal life. Those keys represent Christ’s power and authority over death and the grave.
A grave yard can be a spooky place. I heard a story about a guy who took a shortcut through a dark cemetery after a long night at the bar. Unaware that a new grave had been dug in his path, he stumbled right into it. He tried to climb out, but the mud was too slippery, so he just decided to wait until the morning. He curled up in the corner, covered himself with his coat, and went to sleep. An hour later, a farmer out possum hunting came walking through the cemetery and fell into the same grave. He desperately tried to climb out, unaware that there was anyone else in the grave. The first man listened to the farmer for a few minutes, then reached over in the pitch darkness and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll never get out of here,” he said. That old farmer jumped clear out the grave and never looked back!
Eventually each one of us will be dead and buried; the only way that you’ll ever get out of your grave is if Jesus opens it up and calls you out. No one else holds the keys. No one else has the power or authority to give eternal life.
Jesus once put it this way: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NIV). Jesus is the only one who can save us; the only one who can give us life everlasting. Jesus essentially said, “It’s my way or the highway,” when he said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NIV).
Some people think this claim that Jesus is the only way is bigoted or narrow-minded. But, I’ll tell you, if you get pulled over going the wrong way on a one-way street, I don’t think you’ll get out of a ticket by calling the police officer narrow-minded.
The first time I flew on an airplane was when I went to visit Freed-Hardeman University. I was traveling with two close friends and one of them asked the flight attendant if I could have a set of brass wings since it was my first time flying. As we stood by the cockpit awaiting her return, I happened to glance over and see what looked like a large round compass in the center of the control console. In order to take us safely from O’Hare Airport in Chicago to the airport in Nashville, there was only one direction the pilot could fly. Now, imagine if the crew and passengers on board thought that was narrow-minded of the pilot and they thought we ought to take a vote on which degree we should fly the plane. Or maybe we could take turns choosing the direction. Or maybe we should just fly around in circles for a while. I doubt I ever would have gotten onto another plane. Folks, truth is just one degree out of three hundred sixty. From here to heaven, there is only one way—and that’s through Jesus.
Conclusion
Jesus is the world’s preeminent person. The greatest event in human history was the coming of Jesus into this world. The greatest words ever spoken were his words. The greatest deeds ever done were accomplished by his hands. The greatest gift ever offered was his blood at Calvary. Jesus stands alone in all of history—the single most significant person who ever lived. He is the eternal Son of God, the living one who was dead but is now alive forever, and the only one who holds the keys to everlasting life.
So what do we do with an ageless, alive, authoritative Jesus?
One thing is certain. We can’t ignore him.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’d like to see what else the book of Revelation reveals about Jesus, and I’d like to invite you to come to know him personally.
Invitation
Maybe you’d like to get to know Jesus for the first time this morning. Or, maybe you’d just like to know him a little better. In either case, Jesus wants to be your Savoir and friend. There’s no person he won’t touch. No distance he won’t go. Even though he’s in heaven, he’s never left the neighborhood. If you’d like someone to talk to about your relationship with Jesus, please come talk with me as we stand and sing.
