Who Is Jesus?
Scott R Bayles, preacher
Please open your Bibles up to Revelation chapter twenty-two. In this chapter, there is a remarkable verse on the nature of our Savoir. Earlier this week I was on-line and I discovered a web-site that keeps track of the earth’s population. There is a counter that is constantly increasing and according to that website there are 6,356,715,792 people on the earth! We are quickly approaching 6.5 billion people in the world, and with so many people it is hard for us to distinguish ourselves from everybody else. Sometimes people do some crazy things to try and stand out.
The television show, "Ripley’s Believe It Or Not," actually came about because of a chain of museums called "Ripley’s Believe It Or Not." The very first of these museums was opened in Chicago, IL in 1933 by Robert Leroy Ripley, who dedicated himself to collecting the most bizarre and out of the ordinary artifacts from around the world. Today, the television show, hosted by Dean Cain and Kelly Packard, showcase the most unusual people, trying to standout by performing strange, often grotesque, stunts. Just this season: A man stuffed 8 cockroaches in his mouth setting a new world record. Another man built a monorail to travel around his backyard. An older woman was on the show because her entire diet consists of dirt! On the latest episode another person laid in a bathtub filled with poisonous snakes, in order to break a world record.
Most of us, I hope, don’t feel like they have to do anything as crazy as that to be individual. But we still feel the need to distinguish ourselves. When we meet new people, for instance, we may talk about our jobs, our families, our children, or grandchildren. These are things that make us unique, ways that we distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world.
But I’d like to ask: How would Jesus Christ distinguish Himself? What makes Him unique? What makes Him special? If we were to live in Jerusalem 2,000 yrs ago, maybe one of us would have met Jesus and asked Him, "Who are you?" How would Jesus describe Himself?
When we come to the last chapter of the Bible, we have one of the greatest self-identifications of Christ found anywhere in the Scriptures. I’d like to invite you to read with me, and consider the ways in which Jesus distinguishes Himself:
Revelation 22:16, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
What a beautiful verse. Who is Jesus Christ? In this short verse, just 28 words, Jesus describes Himself in three different ways. He uses three different images here to identify Himself. Notice first, Jesus says that He is...
I. THE ROOT OF DAVID:
Rev. 22:16 ~ "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root of David..."
That is very, very unusual! Of all the things Jesus could have described Himself as, a "root" is probably the last thing I would have expected. Nevertheless, Jesus says that He is the "root of David." So, what does that mean? Well, when we think of a plant today we know that all plants must first have a root, in order to survive.
It’s interesting though, King David was born in approximately the year 1050 BC; that is approximately 1,050 years before Jesus was born! But which comes first: the plant or the root? Well, of course it’s the root! So what is Christ telling us? There is actually a very profound message here. Jesus is saying that He was in existence before David, and not only that but, David came into existence through Jesus!
The statement, "I am the root of David," therefore tells us that Jesus is Divine. It means that He has always been in existence! He was never a mere man. In fact, the eternal existence of Jesus can be found in Genesis 1:26: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." The use of the plural pronoun there was no accident. Jesus Christ was present at the creation of the universe. The Apostle John describes Jesus in very beautiful words, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God. (3) All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (John 1:1).
All created life in the universe goes back to Jesus Christ. He is not only the "root of David," but He is the root of everything that has ever been brought into existence. Jesus Christ was not just a mortal man. He is God!
In an art gallery in Dusseldorf hangs a painting of Christ on the cross with the inscriptions, "I did this for thee. What hast thou done for me?" When the artist had finished his first sketch of the face of the Redeemer, he called in his landlady’s little daughter and asked her who she thought it was. The girl looked at t and said, "It is a good ma." The painter knew that he had failed. He destroyed the sketch and, after praying for greater skill, finished a second. Again he called the little girl in and asked her to tell him whom she thought the face represented. This time the girl said that she thought it looked like a great sufferer. Again he knew he had failed, and again he destroyed the sketch. After meditation and prayer, he made a third sketch. When it was finished, he called the girl and asked her who it was. Looking at the portrait, the girl exclaimed, "It is the Lord!"
That alone makes the coming of Christ meaningful to the world -not that a good man came, not that a wise teacher came, not that a great sufferer came, but that God came! In Matthew 1:23, the angel of the Lord prophesied, "and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us." Who is Jesus Christ? First of all, He is God! But secondly He is...
II. THE DESCENDANT OF DAVID:
Rev. 22:16 ~ "I am the root and the offspring of David..."
So, Jesus created David but, He is also an offspring of David. We can look in the genealogies of Christ recorded in Matthew and Luke and see that Jesus is actually a direct descendant of King David, 28 generations apart.
So what does that mean to us? Jesus is reminding us that - yes, He is God - but He is also human! There is the divine side of Christ but, there is also the human side of Christ. He lived on the earth as a human being for 33 years as He walked among us. There is great comfort for God’s people in that statement!
Perhaps you’ve had the experience of needing to have surgery. When we need to have an intimidating procedure done, who do we usually look to for comfort? Don’t we try to find someone who has had that same surgery.
As students, if you are struggling in a certain class, who do we usually go to for help? Don’t we try to find someone who’s taken that class already.
All across the country people have formed support groups for everything from alcoholism to divorce; cancer survivors to depression. Why? Isn’t because we want to seek the comfort and wisdom of those who have "been there," who have walked in our shoes? Maybe they can offer us some advice, or some encouragement, something to cheer us up and help us on our way!
In the same way, as we come to know Jesus Christ, we can look to Him for sympathy and understanding. When we are tired, it is great to know that our Savoir Jesus also got tired and had to rest (John 4:6). When we are hungry, is to heartening to know that Jesus also knows what it is like to be hungry (Matt 4:2). We know that when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He became thirsty and he cried out for water! We know that Jesus had to sleep each night just like we do (Mat 8:24).
We know of a number of occasions when Jesus had to pray to His Father for strength; we too, when we are weak, can pray to our Father for strength! Jesus knows what it is like to lose a loved one, He wept when Lazarus died.
When we feel as if we have been betrayed by our friends, we know that Jesus was also betrayed by His friend Judas.
He was beaten and bruised. He was despised by men. He was poor. He spent many nights with a rock as His pillow. When we are at our most depressed we can remember therefore: we have a Savoir who has been there before for us!
This is the complete opposite of the ancient gods of Greek and Roman mythology (Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Apollo, etc.). They sat up on Mount Olympus playing dirty tricks on the ignorant humans down on the earth.
This is unlike the gods of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, or even Judaism; false gods, who have never experienced humanity. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, said, "I am the offspring of David." Essentially, "I am a man."
Therefore, He can sympathize with our problems! Christ has been there before us. He knows and He understands. But there is a third expression Jesus used to describe Himself...
III. THE BRIGHT MORNING STAR:
Rev. 22:16 ~ "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."
This was to fulfill a prophecy, given all the way back in the Old Testament by the prophet Balaam, who said, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, And a scepter shall rise from Israel," (Numbers 24:17).
The "bright morning star," we understand, is a reference to the planet Venus as it appears before sunrise in the western sky. The ancient astronomers believed that Venus was actually a star and they identified it as the "bright morning star," as it is still called today.
We know that Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, beaten only by the Sun and the Moon. In areas away from cities, on a morning when there is no moon, the planet Venus is said to actually cast a shadow.
And Venus is a very unusual. It is the only planet in our solar system that rotates on its axis in the opposite direction. For those who think our universe is the result of a catastrophic explosion, apparently Venus didn’t get the memo on which way it was supposed to turn.
Why then would our Savoir want to describe Himself as the bright morning star? It is because the bright morning star represents the hope that something better is coming! We know that as Venus arises in the western sky around 4:00 am, soon the birds will begin to sing. Shortly after that, in the eastern sky, the sun will begin to rise.
The bright morning star represents the promise of a new day, it indicates that something better is coming. Today, most people in the world have no hope for the future. Most people feel like they are in a rat race, and the rats are winning! Thoughtful people reflect on life and ask: What is the point of it all!? Why are we here? What’s the point? What’s the meaning of life?
It’s like the guy who put eight cockroaches in his mouth... so what? What difference does it make? If that is the only hope that we have, then we have no hope. Today, we see people getting blown up by terrorists, husbands beating up their wives, children murdering their parents.
It is as if all humanity is being swallowed up in darkness, but on the horizon we see the bright morning star. It tells us that something better is coming; that our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ will come again! And when He does, He will take us to that place He has been preparing since the first century. Jesus used this description, the bright morning star, because He understands that He is the only hope mankind really has. He is our only hope of ever making it to heaven!
Conclusion:
Who is Jesus Christ? What makes Him unique?
He is the root of David: eternal and divine, the giver of life!
He is offspring of David: and therefore, human in every regard!
His the bright morning star, who points us toward heaven!
He is our Savoir. But He will not save us by force. I heard this story recently:
A mother and her little boy went out for a picnic. As the mother was preparing the food and getting the table ready, the little boy accidentally fell into the river. He began to drown and was screaming for help. There was a man walking along the banks of the river who saw this little boy. The man watched as the little boy struggled, and waited until the boy appeared to be going down for the last time. Then the man quickly jumped into the water and rescued the little boy. The mother was relived that her son had been saved, but she was angry at the man! She said, "Why did you wait so long before you saved my son?" The man replied, "Had I gone in any sooner, while he was still struggling, he would have pulled us under, and we would have both drowned. But when he gave up, then I could rescue him."
In similar way, when we understand that we are not going to live forever -when we understand that there is a better life coming and that we are not going to make it on our own -in other words: when we stop struggling - then we can be rescued. It is at that point, with broken and contrite heart, that we must repent of our sins and be immersed into the body of Jesus Christ! Only then will we have the hope of the bright morning star!
Invitation:
Although Jesus will not force eternal life on anyone, His invitation is extended to everyone. Notice the very next verse in this beautiful chapter: And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. (Rev. 22:17).
If you are subject to that invitation - if you understand that you are lost and have decided to stop struggling - then we invite you to make this your day of salvation! If you are looking for the hope of that bright morning star - the hope of eternal life - then we encourage you to have your sins washed away, calling on His name! If you are prepared to give your life to Christ this morning, then "Come," as together we stand and sing...
note: much of the material for this sermon came from Raymond T. Exum, minister - Crystal Lake, IL
