“It’s All About Jesus”
Revelation 22:12-17,20
May 23, 2004
It’s no big secret. Y’all have been making fun of the way I talk since the day I moved here. It aint easy being a Texan living in Nebraska. We’ve had fun discussing the meaning of words and phrases like; y’all (2nd person plural pronoun), shindig (a get-together), fixin’ to do something (the action is immanent), and what it means to be fuller than an old grey cow tick (means you just ate a lot, my wife hates it when I say that last one). Just last week after Bible Study somebody came up to me and said, “Vicar, you did a great job leading Bible Study this morning, Pastor Poppe would be proud of you…”. And I waited to hear what I might have done well. He said, “He’d be proud of you. You only said y’all twice.” Well, at least we got that going for us.
It may surprise you to learn that English really wasn’t my best subject in school. I could talk it good, no problem. It was the Reading Comprehension that tripped me up. Particularly the part where you had to pick out the main idea of a story. I would always. For example, the stories of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were great. To me the main idea was that 2 kids my age could walk around barefoot, wear cut-off shorts, leave school and go fishin’ whenever they wanted to, and nobody seemed to care! Now that’s the life. Charlotte’s Web was another book I liked, but once again I came away with less than the author intended. Instead of discerning the central theme of enduring friendship, I was truly impressed that a bug could be so smart, and that Wilbur was really lucky he wasn’t bacon.
Now, it’s funny sometimes when a kid misses the point of a story and gets carried away with their imagination. Adults do it too, we can get sidetracked by interesting subplots or side events, and that’s fine. But it isn’t funny, and it’s not fine, when people make the same mistake with the 1 Book that really counts. God’s Word, as it is revealed in Scripture. The sad reality is…it happens more than we realize.
In our text for today, Jesus points us again to the Main Idea and Central Theme of all Scripture. These words of Rev. 22 are the last words of Jesus recorded in the Bible, and they serve well to point us back to “what really matters.”
What is the Main Idea of the Bible? The Main Focus? It’s not just an idea, it’s a Person, Jesus Himself! God’s only Son, the Promised Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Victorious Risen and Ascended Lord. HE’s what Scripture is all about.
In verse 13 of our text He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” You need not be a Greek scholar to understand the meaning of the “Alpha and the Omega”, those are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The story of salvation begins and ends with Jesus. Beginning- Genesis 1:3, John 1:1-4, 14. End- Revelation 22. Jesus is on the first page of the Bible, He is on the last page of the Bible, and He is everything in between. It’s All About Jesus.
The entire Old Testament points straight to Jesus. The people of the OT were saved the same way we are, by grace through faith. They looked forward, in faith, to the coming of the promised Messiah. (Gen 3:15; Isaiah 53:5-7,11; Jer. 23:5-6).
The entire New Testament points to Jesus. The people of the NT church are also saved by grace through faith. Our faith looks back to what Christ accomplished by His life, death, and resurrection. And because of what He has done we also look forward to eternal life. (Luke 2:25-32; John 1:29; Hebrews 10:19-23).
The Bible, from the very first page to the very last, focuses on the person and work of Christ. It’s All About Jesus. He is the end all be all of our salvation, the very center of our lives. Today, as God’s people, sitting in God’s house, hearing God’s Word, we have a God-given task to participate in God’s mission of saving the lost. How do we do it? By pointing people to Him, and only to Him.
Sadly, people that call themselves “church” fail miserably in this responsibility. Not only do they point people to other places, but they themselves discard Jesus in favor of other pursuits.
--Last Sunday, in Massachusetts, many “churches” canceled whatever services they had planned. What replaced them, celebrations. Were they celebrating Jesus, no, they have left Him behind. They were rejoicing over gay couples who were permitted to wed beginning Monday, according to the laws of that State.
--There are churches that teach that there is no difference between a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, or a Buddhist. They say, “As long as one is sincere, we will all end up in the same place anyway, it doesn’t matter what you believe.” They deny the “one name given unto men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), they deny Jesus.
--There are other churches that abandon God’s Word so they can have more people in the pews on Sunday. They don’t want to offend anyone, (after all, that’s the “Unforgivable Sin” Jesus never offended anyone, especially the Pharisees, I digress). So what do they do? They water down the Bible to the point that there is no Law, no Gospel, no sin, and no Savior. All that’s left is a sugary-sweet pile of moralistic mush that’s intended to fill the “perceived needs” of the spiritually starving people that pack their parking lots and collection plates. Folks, do not be deceived, there are plenty of people that call themselves “Christian” who have no Christ. Groups that call themselves “church” that abandon, refuse, and deny the Word of God.
You know what? It’s not just “them out there” who have this problem, but also “us in here.” We are guilty of the same sins. Now, we may not break God’s commandments in the same way, but we break them nonetheless.
--You may not advocate gay marriage, but you too are tempted to commit the sin of sexual immorality. When you look at pornography, when you entertain sexual thoughts about someone who isn’t your spouse, and when you slow down to give a long lustful look at that jogger on the sidewalk as you drive home to your family. When you do these things you are guilty of taking your focus off of your Lord and putting it in a place where it should never be.
--I have no fear that you will leave church today and begin to tell people that there are many ways to heaven and that all religions are the same, after all, you know better than that, you know passages like John 14:6. But when you neglect to tell the people God has placed into your life about the salvation found only in Christ, all because you are afraid they will think you are a “holy-roller” or a “Jesus freak”, your silence is a denial of your Lord.
--I am confident that no one here at Good Shepherd would advocate abandoning God’s Word to make the church grow. But we are guilty of putting it on the back burner at times. How? When the budget is the main concern. When a program or event becomes what’s most important. When someone treats church as a social club. These are all ways that we have put Christ in the background rather than front-and-center where He deserves to be.
These sins and a myriad of others, they don’t please God, thay anger Him. We have earned nothing but well-deserved punishment. God would be just and right to hand down His wrath to us today and for the rest of eternity.
So, what’s the verdict? Are we forever lost? Condemned? Destined for the Hell our sins merit? NO! Not at all! Take a look where Scripture points us, as the author of Hebrews writes, “Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.”
He knew we were sinners, that’s why He died. He knew we would bury ourselves in the tomb of our own trespasses, that’s why He rose for us. And He knows we can’t make it to heaven on our own, that’s why He is coming back for us.
He has done everything necessary for our salvation. That’s the Main Idea of the Bible. He has done it all; His humble birth, His perfect life, His all-sufficient death, His victorious resurrection and ascension into glory, and His immanent Return all serve one purpose. They were all accomplished so that a sinner like you, and a sinner like me, could receive the gift of salvation, eternity with our loving God.
How do I know for sure it’s mine? How do I know that I am saved? That’s an important question to ask, and Jesus answers it. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ words in verse 14.
--Blessed are those who have washed their robes. Have your robes been washed? Where? How? By whom? Your robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb thru the waters of Holy Baptism.
--Because of that you have the right to the Tree of Life. What is the tree by which we obtain eternal life? The Cross! This instrument of death has become the source of life everlasting. We are given access to eat its fruit. What fruit hangs from the branches of this Tree of Life? The Body and Blood of Christ, the Lord’s Supper that we will share today, food that gives forgiveness of sins and strengthens our faith.
--Jesus says that we may go through the gates into the city. The city is heaven. Jesus is the gate through which the sheep enter (John 10). He Himself is the very portal through which we will enter into the glories of heaven.
This Gospel of Jesus Christ, this Main Idea of the Bible, is TRUE and it is FOR YOU. That’s not what I say. That’s what GOD says. This is our faith today, and our hope for tomorrow, and it’s all based in the love of Jesus. Because of this, we reply with the apostle John, in the last words of recorded Scripture, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of God’s people. Amen.
