I’m not a fan of reality T.V. but one new reality show caught my interest as I was channel surfing the other day. I don’t remember the name of the show but it featured former pop stars like M.C. Hammer. The show brought together once-famous people to interact with one another for ten days in a house. The show caught my interest because I was curious to see what the likes of M.C. Hammer are up to these days. Hammer, of course, is no longer in the music industry; he’s an ordained minister.
As we come down from another Easter-induced spiritual high we may wonder what Jesus is doing now. Doesn’t it sometimes seem as if he too has faded into obscurity since his resurrection and ascension two thousand years ago? It may seem that way but our text reassures us that, right now, Jesus is watching over us, ruling for us, and even speaking to us.
When he was about eighty years old, the Apostle John too may have wondered what Jesus was doing. Sixty years of hardship had passed since Jesus’ resurrection. Sure the Church had grown tremendously but it had done so at a cost. Jesus’ original disciples had been martyred one by one for their faith. John’s brother, James, had been the first to go. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa just ten years after Jesus’ resurrection. Twenty years later the spokesman of the disciples, Peter, was crucified upside down by the emperor Nero. John was now the last of the original Twelve and things hadn’t been easy for him either as he had been exiled to the island of Patmos for his faith. The congregations he had left behind on the mainland of present day Turkey were suffering too. The pastor at the church in Pergamum, Antipas, had been martyred when his attackers threw him in a red-hot bronze ox. Yes indeed, what was Jesus doing while his people suffered? John received an answer to that question when Jesus appeared to him on the island of Patmos. John reports the encounter like this: “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance…(He said,) ‘I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!’” (Rev. 1:12-16, 18a)
Jesus appeared to assure John that he hadn’t forgotten about his people. He communicated that by standing among seven golden lampstands. At the end of the chapter Jesus explains that the lampstands represent the seven churches to whom John was to write (Rev. 1:20). The churches are compared to lampstands because Christians are to be a light to the world. The lampstands were golden to show how precious congregations are to Jesus. The fact that Jesus stood among the lampstands meant that he was keeping his promise to be with believers to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). So what is Jesus doing now? He watches over us by standing in our midst!
Because Jesus is in our midst he knows what’s going on in our congregation and in our lives. For example Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love” (Rev. 2:2-4).
Isn’t it scary to think that Jesus knows everything we say, everything we do, and what we really think of others? While we can hide our sins from one another we can’t hide them from Jesus. His blazing eyes (Rev. 1:14b) see everything. Of course the fact that Jesus stands in our midst is also comforting. John said of Jesus, “(he) loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev. 1:5b). Imagine how thankful you would be to someone who freed you from a lead weight that was fastened to your leg and dragging you under the water to a certain death. Jesus’ blood frees us from the weight of sin, which would have dragged us down to hell. Because of that rescue Jesus promised the Ephesian Christians: “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7b).
If Jesus is really standing in our midst, why do we face so many hardships? Is he perhaps here just to spy on us? No, Jesus is here to rule for us. John said of Jesus, “(he) is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5a). Jesus rules for us by dominating all the powers of this world. Of course it doesn’t always seem as if he is control but Jesus assured the Christians at Philadelphia: “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan…come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Rev. 3:8-10). Jesus promised the Philadelphians that in spite of their small numbers they would flourish as a congregation because he was working for them. He even promised to keep the coming persecutions away from them. Only a God who has control over all can guarantee something like that.
If Jesus has the power to keep harm from us, why doesn’t he always do that? Why did he let the Christians of the first century suffer so much? In Rev. 6 Jesus made it clear that he uses persecution to bring his people to their heavenly home. So even in death Jesus is in control of our destiny! We can be certain that Jesus is concerned for us because when John fell at his feet like a dead man, Jesus reached out and put his hand on him (Rev. 1:17). The same hand that ruled the universe willingly took the time to assure one man, John, that he didn’t need to be afraid.
That must have been great for John to see and feel Jesus, but what is Jesus doing for us Christians now? How can we be certain that he still stands in our midst and lays a calming hand on us when we’re troubled? We can be certain of this because Jesus tells us to be certain. Yes, I’m saying that Jesus still speaks to us. In fact that was the very reason he appeared to John. John was to write down Jesus’ words and send them to seven congregations in Asia Minor. The congregations who received these letters could be confident that when those letters were read in their midst, Jesus himself was speaking to them.
These letters weren’t just meant for those congregations to read, however. At the end of each letter Jesus directed all who have ears to listen to what he had to say. Therefore when we read these letters of Revelation, or any part of the Bible for that matter, Jesus speaks to us. Big deal you say? It is a big deal to have Jesus’ Word. Did you notice how the Word was portrayed in John’s vision of Jesus? It was portrayed as a sword protruding from Jesus’ mouth. This sword was not a little dagger but a rhomphia. A rhomphia is a broad sword once used by Thracian warriors. It stood almost as tall as a man and was so heavy that it had to be handled with two hands. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses this word to describe the sword that the nine-foot Goliath had. In other words, when you are exposed to the Word, look out! God’s Word is powerful in two ways. It cuts us to pieces with its law making us feel terrible and scared for the sins we have committed. But it also defends us from the accuser Satan who wants us to believe that God could never love sinners like us. The Word is our weapon against anyone who would want to damage our faith or lead us into sinful living. What is Jesus up to now? He is speaking to us today, right now, that we may be kept in the one true faith until he reappears.
I’d be surprised if that reality show about former pop stars lasts very long. After all, who cares about washed-up celebrities? Although Jesus may not seem to be as prominent as he was on Easter Sunday, let’s not think of him as a washed-up saviour. Our Easter candy may get stale but our Easter joy doesn’t have to and it won’t when we take to heart Jesus’ visit with John. That appearance assures us that Jesus continues to watch over and rule for us. It demonstrates how he still speaks to us through his Word. Therefore we can be certain of this, that even though life may be difficult, Jesus remains at our side working hard to bring us to our home in heaven. Amen.
