Jesus Revealed: Part 3
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/24/2013
H.G. Wells, who is famous for his fiction novels like The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, once said, “I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”
His assessment couldn’t be more accurate. 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. Jesus 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 had a Twitter account. And yet, Jesus remains—as H.G. Wells keenly discerned—the most dominant figure in all history.
But the question is—who is Jesus really?
That reminds me of a joke. One day Jesus visited a nursing home that had several residents with Alzheimer's in it. He went around and greeted the people who were very glad to see him. He walked up to one lady who had been smiling at him and asked, “Do you know who I am?” She said, “No, but if you go to the Front Desk, they can tell you.”
It’s no wonder really that Jesus is the most famous person who ever lived. We applaud men for doing good things. We enshrine God for doing great things. But what do we do with a man who does God things? One thing is certain. We can’t ignore him.
That’s why we’ve spent this month pulling back the curtain of Revelation to see Jesus more clearly. In Revelation 1, Jesus is revealed to be ageless, alive, and authoritative. In Revelation 5, Jesus is revealed to be the Lion, the Lamb, and the Lord. This morning, we’re going to peer into the final chapter of Revelation and see the last word on Christ—the last description of Jesus, given by none other than Jesus himself.
Here’s what he says: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16 NLT).
In this simple but elegant statement, Jesus gives us three distinct pictures that reveal who he is. First, Jesus is the source!
• JESUS IS THE SOURCE
Specifically, Jesus identifies himself as the source of David. Not only was Jesus a descendant of King David, who slew goliath and ushered in a semi-golden age in Israel, but Jesus is the source of David. The Old Testament prophesied (Isaiah 11, etc.) that the Messiah would be not only the offspring of David, but also the root of David—meaning Jesus had to exist prior to his birth and prior to David’s birth. And not only has Jesus been around all that time, but he created David—Jesus is the source from which David came into existence. And, according to Scripture, David isn’t the only one who owes his existence to Jesus. John puts it this way: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3 NIV).
Genesis confirms the claim that all things were made through Jesus when God says, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us” (Genesis 1:26 NLT). Apparently God wasn’t alone in the creation of the heavens and earth; rather, Jesus was with God in the beginning and was himself God.
Forgive me for stating the obvious, but if Jesus is the source of David and the creator of all things, that means he made you and me too. Paul didn’t mind stating obvious: “There is only one Lord—Jesus Christ. All things were made through him, and we also were made through him” (1 Corinthians 8:6 NCV).
I think it’s fitting that Jesus grew up in a carpenter’s home. Carpenters have primarily two jobs—making things and fixing things. And that’s what Jesus is all about. Jesus is the God who spoke and the galaxies leapt into existence. Psalm 33 says that he made all the stars by the breath of his mouth. He’s powerful enough to generate black holes and supernovas, yet intricate enough to fashion together the trillions of cells that make up every facet of who you are. The God that breathed the universe into existence made you, too. He carefully mixed the DNA cocktail that makes you unique. You’re not the by-product of natural selection acting on random mutations. You are custom-designed by the creator of the heavens and earth.
From microscopic molecules to the moons of Mars, Jesus Christ is the Source of all things including you and me. So, first, Jesus is the Source.
• JESUS IS THE SON
Furthermore, Jesus is identifies himself as the heir or the son of David. Jesus is the Son. Let’s look at that verse again. Jesus says, “I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne” (Revelation 22:16 NLT). Another translation says, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David” (Revelation 22:16 HCSB). In identifying himself as the offspring or son of David, Jesus is pointing toward his humanity. According to the Bible, Jesus was—and is—both holy and human. Fully God and fully man!
Solomon once asked, “Will God really live on earth among people?” (2 Chronicles 6:18 NLT). If Christ’s claim is factual, then the answer is—yes!
The same God who created you and spoke the universe into existence kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. The universe watched with wonder as the Almighty learned to walk. Children played in the street with him. Jesus may have had pimples. He may have been tone-deaf. Perhaps the girl down the street had a crush on him or vice-versa. It could be that his knees were knobby and his nose runny. One thing's for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human. The God of the galaxies left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Can you imagine?
The Christ of the cosmos is the Christ of your Mondays. The star-maker manages your travel schedule. The universe’s Commander-in-Chief knows your name. He has walked your streets. In fact, that reminds me of a young man who asked his father if he could borrow his dad’s 1963 Corvette to take his girlfriend to the prom. His dad said, “I’ll tell you what, if you can improve one letter grade in each of your classes and if you’ll get your hair cut, I’ll let you take the car.” Well, a few weeks went by and the boy managed to pull up all of his grades. He went back to his father and showed him his progress, then asked if he could have the keys. The dad said, “I’m sorry son, but you didn’t get your hair cut.” Indignant, the boy grumbled, “Come on Dad, even Jesus had long hair!” The father smiled as he said, “Yep, and Jesus walked everywhere he went too.” God walked!
Fully God and fully human—isn’t that what we need? A just-God Jesus could make us, but not relate to us. A just-man Jesus could love us, be never save us. But a God-man Jesus could do both. Max Lucado calls him: “Our next-door Savior. Near enough to touch. Strong enough to trust.” And that’s who Jesus is—both the Source and the Son of man. He understands our aches and pains because he’s walked that road. The One who feed thousands, knows what hunger feels like. The One who gives living water, had dry and thirsty lips. The One who offers to heal our hurts, experienced his own.
• JESUS IS THE STAR
So Jesus is the Source and Son of David, and finally—Jesus is also the Star. In his final self-portrait, Jesus says, “I am the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16 NLT).
When Jesus calls himself the Star, we immediately get the sense that we know what he’s talking about. I mean, we’re familiar with movie-stars, rock-stars and basketball all-stars. And Jesus is the Star of stars. He’s the single most significant person who ever lived. More songs have been sung to him, artwork created of him, and books written about him than anyone in history. Forget MVP. He’s the whole league. The head of the parade? Hardly. No one else shares the street. No one even comes close. Humanity’s best and brightest fade like dime-store rubies next to him.
But there’s something deeper in the meaning of this moniker. What the ancients called the bright morning star, we now know to be the planet Venus, which is often visible in the eastern sky just before dawn breaks. Venus, due to its proximity to the sun, the gasses in its atmosphere, as well as its nearness to Earth, is one of the brightest objects in the sky whenever it appears. Since Venus is a planet with its own backward orbit, it doesn’t appear as frequently or consistent in the same spot as normal stars, but many near-eastern cultures came to see the bright morning star as a herald of hope.
Early in the morning what little grass grew in that arid climate would be moist with the morning’s dew. The cool air of early spring breezed through the blossoming branches of nearby trees as the sun crept slowly over the mountains surrounding Jerusalem before spilling its light over the rolling desert hills of Palestine. Priest, peasants, and publicans alike could lift their eyes to the eastern sky and see the bright morning star still shining radiantly—a symbol of hope, the harbinger of a new day, a sign that something better loomed on the horizon.
That’s what Jesus is—the hope of humanity. Could you use some hope? We have all kinds of hopes and dreams—the hope that we might meet that perfect man or woman and get married or the hope that the marriage we have might be rekindled. Some of us hope desperately to have a child, while others hope that their adult children might finally turn their lives around. We hope to get out of debt or escape our stress. We long to be healed of some disease or disability, or we hope we won’t have to take a medication the rest of our lives. When those dreams go unfulfilled or our hopes are shattered, it’s discouraging, sometimes devastating, and the world seems darker.
Jesus is our assurance that no matter what happens in this world, no matter what tragedies befalls us, no matter how dark the night gets something better looms on the horizon. Jesus is the bright morning star rising in our hearts—the hope of humanity.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure of all time. This penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. 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.
Who is Jesus really?
In his own words, he’s the Source and Son of man—fully God, fully human—and the bright morning Star, the hope of all mankind. Jesus is nothing short of amazing!
Invitation
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus already, I want you to know that there is a God of infinite power and passion who loved us enough to become one of us—to cloak his eternal majesty in human flesh. He lived and died to bridge the gap between us and God and even though he’s in heaven, he’s never left the neighborhood.
If you want know Jesus personally today, please come talk with me.
