What Is Revealed?
Sermon
Paradise Restored
Sermons From Revelation For Lent And Easter
In that wonderful old movie, High Noon, Gary Cooper is Will Kane, marshal of a small, rough town on the prairie. He has cleaned up the town, and not everybody likes it cleaned up. Well, he's getting married. His bride is a Quaker, and she's persuaded him to hang up his guns and his star and move to a town a hundred miles away to run a store.
Just then, the townspeople hear that Frank Miller has been pardoned for his murder conviction and will be arriving in town on the noon train. The new marshal won't be in town until tomorrow and none of his old deputies can handle this. And no one in town will help. No one will stand up to the outlaw and his friends, even when they think Will Kane can do it by himself, and only needs the backing, they still won't do it. Some won't just because they liked it the way it was. Some think if they stay out of it they won't be bothered.
In one scene Kane walks out of the door of the jail into the center of the dusty street and there is only silence. Even the girl who was supposed to love him turned her back.
Everyone wants him to quit, to turn back, to run away. Kane only wants to do the right thing because it is the right thing. But he has to do it alone.
Why is it that the righteous person is so often alone? In the words of an old gospel song, "You got to walk that lonesome valley; You got to walk it for yourself. Nobody else can walk it for you; You got to walk it for yourself." (Mosley, Emphasis, March-April, 2000, p. 71)
The answer in the book of Revelation is that you are not alone. Except for John himself, who really does nothing but narrate, and Jesus and the angels, there is no individual who stands out as a personality in Revelation. John wants us to see the sweep of God's plan for salvation as it affects the whole of humankind. He writes to churches, not individuals, and while the individuals may be facing persecution, they do not face it alone. The good news of Revelation is: We are not alone, even when we feel alone.
That may be why Revelation is so hard for some to understand. They feel alone, and any argument or statement that you are not alone has to be wrong.
And here is a paradox for us. The real hero of Revelation is Jesus Christ, and he is pictured in glory, coming in power to bring salvation and life for the believers, and judgment and defeat for the unrighteous, unbelieving, and evil. And he is that because he died alone.
In his vision, John sees a holy scroll, the book of the last judgment. It is sealed with seven seals and no one is found worthy to open the seals. He weeps because people, even the people of God, are sinful and unworthy of holy things. But then he sees the One who is worthy. And why is he worthy? Because he is the Lamb who was slain, who died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Everywhere John sees people who have their robes washed in the blood, and his blood is what makes them worthy. And there are hosts of angels around Jesus, "And they sang a new song: 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you bought for God people from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.' "
What is revealed in Revelation is precisely what is revealed on Golgotha on Good Friday. The one who dies alone dies there that we might know that wherever we are, we are not alone.
Why did Jesus have to die?
Well, there have been many answers to this question. One is that Jesus challenged the people in power and they obliterated him as they would any obstacle in their path. Jerusalem "killing the prophets." Another is that the ruler of this world must kill any good that it cannot corrupt. You probably know people who can't stand to see anyone "better" than they are, and they put them down to make themselves look better.
But the all-time answer is sin. The wages of sin is death. A death is required to answer for the sin of the world. The catch is that it can't be just any death. The life given must be worthy. And that's what John is weeping over. No one of us is worthy. But there is one who is worthy, and that one is willing to give his life.
And that really is the gospel message. The message is that life is for the giving away. We exist, not for self-preservation, or survival, or to prevail, or to win contests, or to amass a fortune, but to give ourselves away. He is greatest among us who will give himself away most completely. No mere human being could do that. It would take a god. And not a god like the Greeks and Romans had, but one who was willing to leave his heaven and godhood behind, and give it, and himself, away.
Jesus does that.
The Lamb who was slain has begun his reign, but this is how it begins, on a cross, with blood and death. And you know, we do have to come to this kingdom alone, as individuals walking our lonesome valleys by ourselves. But when we do, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross with the uncounted multitude that John sees, the saints who have gone before, and all the angels, because the Lamb was slain, that we might know we are not alone.
In Colossians 1:24, Paul writes, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church." I've always wondered about that. What is lacking in Christ's sacrifice? Well, we have an answer here in the new song of the four living creatures and the 24 elders with the harps and the golden bowls falling down before the lamb. They sing, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
If no less a minister and missionary than Paul says he is completing what is lacking in Christ's sacrifice, then something is lacking. But both Paul and Revelation agree that we are saved by the sacrifice of the Lamb. So what is lacking is our response to the sacrifice. Peter calls all believers "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Paul points to his own imprisonment and sufferings because they demonstrate to the Colossians, and the Laodiceans, and the Thessalonians, and the Corinthians, and the Romans, and all those other folks, that this man who suffered and died on a cross did that for the people -- and if Paul did not say so, and himself participate in the suffering of Christ, those people would not know that they are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Nor would we.
And there's something lacking in Christ's sacrifice as long as there are people around us who don't know about his sacrifice. We supply what is lacking, by giving a witness -- and in that way we participate in his life, death, and resurrection.
When you worship in this church, or any Christian church, you give a witness. When you support a congregation with time, talent, or money, you give a witness. When you help someone in need, you give a witness. When you tell someone about your faith in Christ Jesus, you give a witness. When you meet a challenge in your life, such as suffering, sickness, or loss, you give a witness. When you champion a righteous cause when it would be so easy to ignore it, you give a witness. When you return meanness and cruelty with kindness and courtesy, you give a witness. When you are the best you can be in spite of the temptations to be less, you give a witness. If you can quote more Bible verses from memory than television commercials, you give a witness.
And that is joining in the songs of the angels and the countless multitudes of heaven, the great cloud of witnesses, that John of Patmos sees in his vision of heaven, singing, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever." That is praise of the Lamb, and that is what is lacking, and we can supply it, because we are not alone.
It may be "high noon," and the streets are deserted, but we know the Christ and him crucified, and we know all the witnesses to his cross through the ages.
Lord, help us to know that we are not alone, no matter what, for you died that we might say no to everything that would keep us from saying yes to you.
Just then, the townspeople hear that Frank Miller has been pardoned for his murder conviction and will be arriving in town on the noon train. The new marshal won't be in town until tomorrow and none of his old deputies can handle this. And no one in town will help. No one will stand up to the outlaw and his friends, even when they think Will Kane can do it by himself, and only needs the backing, they still won't do it. Some won't just because they liked it the way it was. Some think if they stay out of it they won't be bothered.
In one scene Kane walks out of the door of the jail into the center of the dusty street and there is only silence. Even the girl who was supposed to love him turned her back.
Everyone wants him to quit, to turn back, to run away. Kane only wants to do the right thing because it is the right thing. But he has to do it alone.
Why is it that the righteous person is so often alone? In the words of an old gospel song, "You got to walk that lonesome valley; You got to walk it for yourself. Nobody else can walk it for you; You got to walk it for yourself." (Mosley, Emphasis, March-April, 2000, p. 71)
The answer in the book of Revelation is that you are not alone. Except for John himself, who really does nothing but narrate, and Jesus and the angels, there is no individual who stands out as a personality in Revelation. John wants us to see the sweep of God's plan for salvation as it affects the whole of humankind. He writes to churches, not individuals, and while the individuals may be facing persecution, they do not face it alone. The good news of Revelation is: We are not alone, even when we feel alone.
That may be why Revelation is so hard for some to understand. They feel alone, and any argument or statement that you are not alone has to be wrong.
And here is a paradox for us. The real hero of Revelation is Jesus Christ, and he is pictured in glory, coming in power to bring salvation and life for the believers, and judgment and defeat for the unrighteous, unbelieving, and evil. And he is that because he died alone.
In his vision, John sees a holy scroll, the book of the last judgment. It is sealed with seven seals and no one is found worthy to open the seals. He weeps because people, even the people of God, are sinful and unworthy of holy things. But then he sees the One who is worthy. And why is he worthy? Because he is the Lamb who was slain, who died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Everywhere John sees people who have their robes washed in the blood, and his blood is what makes them worthy. And there are hosts of angels around Jesus, "And they sang a new song: 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you bought for God people from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.' "
What is revealed in Revelation is precisely what is revealed on Golgotha on Good Friday. The one who dies alone dies there that we might know that wherever we are, we are not alone.
Why did Jesus have to die?
Well, there have been many answers to this question. One is that Jesus challenged the people in power and they obliterated him as they would any obstacle in their path. Jerusalem "killing the prophets." Another is that the ruler of this world must kill any good that it cannot corrupt. You probably know people who can't stand to see anyone "better" than they are, and they put them down to make themselves look better.
But the all-time answer is sin. The wages of sin is death. A death is required to answer for the sin of the world. The catch is that it can't be just any death. The life given must be worthy. And that's what John is weeping over. No one of us is worthy. But there is one who is worthy, and that one is willing to give his life.
And that really is the gospel message. The message is that life is for the giving away. We exist, not for self-preservation, or survival, or to prevail, or to win contests, or to amass a fortune, but to give ourselves away. He is greatest among us who will give himself away most completely. No mere human being could do that. It would take a god. And not a god like the Greeks and Romans had, but one who was willing to leave his heaven and godhood behind, and give it, and himself, away.
Jesus does that.
The Lamb who was slain has begun his reign, but this is how it begins, on a cross, with blood and death. And you know, we do have to come to this kingdom alone, as individuals walking our lonesome valleys by ourselves. But when we do, we find ourselves at the foot of the cross with the uncounted multitude that John sees, the saints who have gone before, and all the angels, because the Lamb was slain, that we might know we are not alone.
In Colossians 1:24, Paul writes, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church." I've always wondered about that. What is lacking in Christ's sacrifice? Well, we have an answer here in the new song of the four living creatures and the 24 elders with the harps and the golden bowls falling down before the lamb. They sing, "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
If no less a minister and missionary than Paul says he is completing what is lacking in Christ's sacrifice, then something is lacking. But both Paul and Revelation agree that we are saved by the sacrifice of the Lamb. So what is lacking is our response to the sacrifice. Peter calls all believers "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
Paul points to his own imprisonment and sufferings because they demonstrate to the Colossians, and the Laodiceans, and the Thessalonians, and the Corinthians, and the Romans, and all those other folks, that this man who suffered and died on a cross did that for the people -- and if Paul did not say so, and himself participate in the suffering of Christ, those people would not know that they are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Nor would we.
And there's something lacking in Christ's sacrifice as long as there are people around us who don't know about his sacrifice. We supply what is lacking, by giving a witness -- and in that way we participate in his life, death, and resurrection.
When you worship in this church, or any Christian church, you give a witness. When you support a congregation with time, talent, or money, you give a witness. When you help someone in need, you give a witness. When you tell someone about your faith in Christ Jesus, you give a witness. When you meet a challenge in your life, such as suffering, sickness, or loss, you give a witness. When you champion a righteous cause when it would be so easy to ignore it, you give a witness. When you return meanness and cruelty with kindness and courtesy, you give a witness. When you are the best you can be in spite of the temptations to be less, you give a witness. If you can quote more Bible verses from memory than television commercials, you give a witness.
And that is joining in the songs of the angels and the countless multitudes of heaven, the great cloud of witnesses, that John of Patmos sees in his vision of heaven, singing, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever." That is praise of the Lamb, and that is what is lacking, and we can supply it, because we are not alone.
It may be "high noon," and the streets are deserted, but we know the Christ and him crucified, and we know all the witnesses to his cross through the ages.
Lord, help us to know that we are not alone, no matter what, for you died that we might say no to everything that would keep us from saying yes to you.
