It had been a while, but recently, my wife and I were asked if while living in Los Angeles, we’d ever run into any famous celebrities. We spent a few minutes sharing random encounters with semi-famous people. We told about how we saw so-and-so at the airport, or drove by so-and-so near a voting site, or how so-and-so tried to date a roommate of ours. The entire exercise reminded me of a few sobering realities. First is how much that we as people like to be near greatness, even if it’s perceived greatness. Humans love to compare ourselves with others to try to rise in our own standing and image and climb the social ladder in every way that we can. This kind of name-dropping mentality is a powerful part of that celebrity culture that lures us into a desperate scramble to know and to be known by as many great and influential people as we can.

It’s the same kind of mentality that drives this multi-million dollar industry that offers books and articles and podcasts and advice on how to better yourself and to make a good impression, how to work on your image, how to get what many call the “it factor.” It’s often boiled down to that one word—presence. It’s what so many in the world are after. If you were to tune into sports news or any kind of talk, you often find heated comparisons between two or more great leaders or great players in a particular sport or category. The debate often surrounds this one question. Which of these people or individuals is the G-O-A-T; Greatest Of All Time? The same debate covers musicians, artists, poets, politicians, rulers, nations, people we would give our praise and attention to, arguing over who is number 1.

But there has never been anyone more compelling, more distinct, more impressive, than the person so often overlooked by the world. Today, we refuse to overlook him because there is no one like Jesus! His followers have known that even when they haven’t been listened to, even as we see from the very beginning, they were rejected, ostracized just as He was, banished from public conversation. No one can suppress the deep and unrivaled impression that Jesus left upon the world and that He makes upon a soul. As the watching world considers Him for the brief moment that is today, we again must remember why He is more worth following than any other supposed Greatest Of All Time. And why for all the debate and discussion, there is no one like Jesus. Nothing makes a deeper impression upon a soul than a close encounter with Christ. To see what makes Him so special, we’re going to look at Revelation chapter 1 today. To look at what truly sets Him apart, there are some compelling distinctions, some impressions He makes upon us as we encounter Him. We’ll look at three. The first is simply how He speaks. We begin with

#1 A Unique Testimony To Believe (1-8)

A testimony is a formal statement often given as evidence or proof of the reality or existence of something. We hear of people testifying in the court of law. Witnesses often give formal testimony to what they see and experience. Sometimes it’s in standard ways that people expect. Every once in a while, there is a testimony that stands out as unique and particularly compelling. The same can happen when advertisers offer testimonials to draw our attention and stand out. Statements often are used as testaments, as signs or evidences or proofs given to verify some kind of fact or event. These are claims that at the end of the day are presented for us to accept or reject.

When a certain event or person is put on trial or at a celebration of life or the memorial service, the reality of their words or their character is up in the air. They or the counsel that they seek or their loved ones, work hard to present the most credible authoritative, influential people to testify about them. What’s so interesting about Jesus is His choice of who He selects to testify to Him and how He designs for this witness to give testimony. It’s quite unexpected and unique and it stands for us to accept or reject. You can see the uniqueness of the testimony in verses 1-8. This is just one aspect that sets Jesus apart; how He speaks.

To be sure, God has sent many witnesses to make Himself known to us. For years, He would appear and speak through the prophets. There were times where He sent angels to bring messages to His people. He saw fit to preserve the most necessary aspects, exactly what was needed of His testimony in His written Word. Often, we call it Scripture or the Bible. He had eventually sent His Son, who was known as the Word not written, but incarnate. God came as a man who took on flesh and made Himself known to live among us and to testify. He recruited disciples, followers who personally knew Him, watched Him die, spent time with Him and saw Him after He rose again. It was these followers who were witnesses to His resurrection and then who were sent to testify as witnesses throughout Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It was through some of these witnesses that He would provide the final portions of written testimony in entirety, preserved for us in what we often call the Old and New Testaments. Here in Revelation, we have the last written installment, the final written testimony commissioned and inspired by God.

We’ve become quite familiar with the Bible as another work of literature, but there are several qualities about the way in which God speaks, even in this particular testimony, that make it unique and compelling and demand our attention and consideration, starting with how it begins and what it claims to be. Look at the prophetic nature it claims.

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ,

Revelation means something that is made known that was previously unknown. This is a divine supernatural disclosure or unveiling to humans directly by God to His servant. John’s claim is unmistakable that this testimony is from God and it is revealing or unveiling something. It is definitive. It is the revelation. Who it is about, the revelation is of Jesus Christ. This is the clear emphasis or focus that the testimony will maintain. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the center focus. This is about Him. That is His formal title. Jesus’ name means “Yahweh saves.” The same God that made the promise in the beginning has come, now Jesus as Christ. Christ is the word for “Messiah” or “Anointed or Chosen One.” This is who John understood Him to be. He is the divine God-man chosen to rescue the world and this testimony is entirely about Him.

Third, you can look at who it’s from. Look at the divine source that he cites. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ

which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

God gave. This is from God. It’s supernatural in its origin and in how it comes.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

We’re told that’s how some messages from God had come before in Acts chapter 7 and in Galatians. Angels had helped to bring to mankind God’s Word. This word “angels” is the same word for messenger. It can refer to human messengers. Often it refers to angelic spirit beings. Here in Revelation, that word is referenced more than in any other book in the Bible; at least 71 times. Almost all of them are referring to spirit beings. There’s a few that likely are just simply messengers. But over a quarter of the Bible’s mentions of angels occurs here in this book. It’s a supernatural testimony given by God, through angels, to John, His servant. He is the agent God chose.

This is John the apostle. He is one of the three intimate followers of Jesus. He is the man who traveled and lived with Jesus. He is the man who had seen Him crucified. He is the man to whom Jesus had entrusted the care of His own mother, Mary. He knew Jesus well. He had personally run to see the empty tomb. He had spent decades after testifying to Jesus. He was a personal witness and he suffered for his testimony. You can see what he bore witness to, the subject of his witness.

2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

He bore witness generally, to the truth of God’s Word and specifically, to the testimony of Jesus Christ and personally, to the totality of his experience. John is the agent communicating this testimony, but the source is not to be mistaken. It is a testimony from above, from God Himself.

We’ve seen the prophetic nature it claims, the focus on Jesus that it maintains, the divine source it cites. And you can look at the benefits that it promises. There is a special blessing to two different kinds of recipients.

3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,

Just merely by speaking, there is blessing. But second, there is blessing to the obedient hearer.

and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it,

The blessings remind us of that first sermon that Jesus had given on the mount, the Beatitudes, as they are called. They are blessings offered. Blessings throughout Revelation are offered. Then at the very end, there are blessings upon those who hear and who keep. This is a blessing that is offered merely by this testimony. The reason given is that the time is near.

for the time is near.

The end, the culmination of history, the fulfillment of these prophecies, long-awaited, we are told, is near. Thus reading these words, hearing these words, giving heed brings blessing unlike any other kind of testimony.

Look at how it comes to us, the basic form that it takes. The simple form is that of a letter. After this unique opening, the letter continues like you might expect. You see who it’s by and who it’s to.

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

They were actual churches in Asia Minor at the time. It is modern day Turkey. It opens with this simple, traditional greeting.

Grace to you and peace

It’s such a basic form this testimony takes. It’s so human, so ordinary. Like many of the works preserved by God, He uses a letter. It’s personal communication that conveys so much relationally that we might miss in other forms. It’s so basic, so unique in the fact that it’s common. It comes, in verse 4 still we’re reminded, from God. Even though it’s in this form of a letter, it still originates from God. John specifies the kind of God from whom this letter originates.

from him who is and who was and who is to come,

He uses three different sequences of phrases. I think he’s conveying the idea of God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son. You can see how he begins there. The divine author is God the Father, the one who is. It’s from Him who is who was and who is to come. This is God, the One whom the old prophets knew to be Yahweh, the great I AM. He is the eternally existing, ever-living God. But you also see him say that this divine author, that it also comes

and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

That’s kind of a unique phrase and it could be understood to mean angels, spirit beings. Some have thought so, but I think in the sequence here is it refers to God’s Holy Spirit. I think probably one of the more helpful passages is from Zechariah chapter 4. Zechariah is a prophet from the Old Testament who had seen a vision of God. In that passage you can read similar symbols of golden lampstands and the number seven being used, as well as two phrases that stand out. The first in Zechariah 4 is that the eyes of the Lord are seven and they range throughout the whole earth. It’s this idea that God sees all. We’re also told, “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” It’s the idea of the inescapable presence and incomparable power of God’s Spirit. Just like referencing the four corners of the earth, the idea is to give a complete coverage of God’s presence. This is God. He is the author here; the Father, the Spirit, and third, the Son.

5 and from Jesus Christ

This is a formal title. It’s the last time it’s going to be used here in this book. Later, it will be just Jesus or Lord Jesus. Of Jesus, we’re given some descriptions, here. He is

the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

Faithful witness means He is the one who testifies to God, who truly is trustworthy. Psalm 89 might come to mind, here. Verse 37 in that psalm says the moon is a faithful witness in the sky. The moon is a witness to keeping of God’s steadfast love and His promise that He made to one of the kings of old, David. The moon’s continual return and reflection of the sun’s light is a perpetual and trustworthy sign, a witness that God will keep His Word.

We see that in Him, He is the firstborn of the dead. Again in Psalm 89, verse 27 there was a prophecy that a chosen one of David would be the Son of God who God claims that He would,

Psalm 89:27 And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

Jesus is the resurrected king reigning over all other authorities. Here we see He is the ruler of kings on earth. It’s a reminder of Psalm 2, of a serious prophecy whereby God makes a statement to His Son who is eternally existing and yet, born of a virgin, fulfilling this decree. God would say

Psalm 2:7–9 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

That is a ruler! This is Jesus Christ. He is God the Son, yet has full authority and complete faithfulness to the steadfast promises of God to save. God the Spirit is incomparably powerful and inescapably present in all the earth. God the Father is eternally existing in all time. Ultimately, while John is the writer and this is a very basic form, God is the author of this testimony. Even as God, of all the ways He can communicate revelation of Himself, the form He chooses is this basic letter.

Now this letter, you can see in John, is motivated by powerful inspiration of who Jesus has shown Himself to be. He is writing this letter, you could almost say, with a dedication unto Jesus. This is who it’s ultimately for. This testimony is unto Christ. The subject that John has, he calls Him the one, here. He specifically mentions what this one has done, the accomplishments that Jesus has made. It’s why John is so captivated by this person of Jesus Christ. This is to Him who loves us, who freed us, and then who transformed us.

To him who loves us

Did you notice that? He freed us, past tense. He has made us, past tense. But here John says He loves us, present tense. I believe that this is the only place in the Bible where we see that Jesus, present tense, loves us like this. You know that song.

Jesus loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so

My daughter knows it. Here’s where it tells us so. There is something special about the present tense because once for all time He freed us, but He loves us always, even now. John would speak of a Savior that he knew died, but now is alive and able to love even now. It’s a precious reminder of what Jesus has accomplished. He loves us. From a man who personally watched Him die, he knows who Jesus is. This is a helpful truth especially to churches who would be facing suffering and an uncertain future. Jesus loves us. But John also mentions His accomplishment.

and has freed us from our sins

He has once for all set us free. He has broken us out of that slavery or oppression before others, but from the greatest oppressor and enslavement ever known. He has freed us from our sins. There is no more evil, no more painful, no more deadly, no more dark enslavement than being held captive by your own sins and guilt. It is a burden and a stain that is inescapable. It is a prison with no walls. It’s a darkness with no windows. It’s a chain with no shackles. It’s a blindness. It’s a compulsion to continue and it results in a condemnation, a curse, a sentence to wrath and judgment for all our wrongdoing. Our conscience will testify against us. Day and night, we seek to suppress, but our sins are oppressive, enslaving. And John says He has freed us.

Is there anyone more worthy of dedicating a testimony unto than the One who set us free from our sins? He did what no one else could. He became the way out. He became the door. He became the light. He broke that compulsion and He gave another. He made a way of salvation, forgiveness from guilt, and the gift of righteousness. How did He do it all? How did He free us from our sins?

by his blood

John knows. He was there. Jesus Himself was the sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus died in our place on the cross. That blood, John will remember it in Revelation 5:9. It’s the blood that ransomed God’s people.

Revelation 7:14 …And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

They conquer by the blood of the Lamb in Revelation 12:11. This blood is powerful blood that cleanses us and sets us free. It’s described in 2 Corinthians like this:

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It’s an amazing exchange whereby He set us free and third, transformed us. This last idea, John mentions in verse 6. Here’s what He made us into and for whom He did so. We’ve been transformed

6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father,

This is fulfillment of the promise God made very far back in Exodus 19:6 and that was affirmed in 1 Peter 2:9. God’s people now are a chosen race. They’ve been redeemed out of their sin, out of this stain.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for

his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

It’s that they would shout and cheer and share “This is what God has done! We’ve been brought from darkness to light!” This is what Jesus has done. He loves us, He freed us, and transformed us, and gives us new purpose and meaning. That has inspired John. This testimony is unto Him. All this moves him to wish that

to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

You can look at what he expects; the apocalyptic event this testimony predicts in verse 7. Look at the sober event anticipated.

7 Behold,

That time is near for Jesus’ return. John highlights three aspects of that event that are upcoming. When Jesus returns, He will arrive gloriously, He will appear undeniably, and He will overwhelm dramatically. You can see Him arrive gloriously. John says

he is coming with the clouds,

Just as He ascended, He will return and He will appear undeniably. In a general sense, John says

and every eye will see him,

And in a specific sense, he says

even those who pierced him,

Jesus will appear before all men, even those desperate to rid themselves of Him. All will see Him and He will overwhelm dramatically. John says

and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

It’s a deep grief and mourning as they face the Maker whom they so utterly rejected. This is the event the testimony predicts. Even as foreboding as it sounds, John still beckons it forth with conviction, using the affirmations he can give.

Even so. Amen.

This will happen. The opening of this testimony builds towards this epic validation from God Himself in verse 8. This is the authoritative one under whom this testimony continues. God validates it Himself through a direct quote, personally.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,

Yahweh, the I AM, speaks Himself, personally and in a way that is unrivaled. He says

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

You can see there that God is unrivaled in being the all-knowing one. Alpha and Omega is the beginning and the end of the Greek alphabet. “I know A to Z. There is nothing I don’t know.” He is all-knowing and He is ever-present. This is the one who is and who was and who is to come. Anywhere and any when you travel to, God is already there. He is also all-powerful and simply the Almighty. None surpasses Him in His will. Whatever He wants to do, He does.

It’s by this God that the testimony is personally and definitively validated by the all-knowing, ever-present, all-powerful God. This is the unique testimony given to us by John about Jesus. There is no testimony more compelling in its uniqueness. It is unlike any others and it demands a response. It calls for a decision. This is an announcement that is stated to be accepted or rejected. But the call is that it would be believed.

The way God speaks is the same way He has spoken. It follows suit. He gives His Word and He calls us to trust it, to believe. He spoke His Word in the beginning. He has given it in written form. The prophets have cried. The Scriptures speak, but so precious few believe. Even when God spoke great warnings of destruction on the earth, so few believed. As those nations emerged, even with that in the background, so few believed. God chose them out, had to continue speaking and calling and drawing. Even when He came as a man to give testimony Himself, so few believed. Jesus Himself warned like this:

Matthew 7:13–14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53 would share this testimony like so many, that so few believe. This is a Messiah rejected and despised. He is One who arrived in obscurity. He was overlooked by almost all, ignored by Pilate, forgotten by many, and is scoffed at even now. Yet, the testimony stands unlike any other ever given. It is utterly unique and compelling and it calls for us to decide. Do you believe it? What are you trusting in? This testimony calls you to decide.

Jesus is distinct in how He speaks, but also in what He is like. Look at the impression that we get. We can call this

#2 A Dramatic Majesty to Behold (9-17a)

Here we move from the uniqueness of His witness to the magnificence of His appearance in verses 9-17; the majesty. Majesty is this idea of impressive stateliness or dignity or beauty, someone’s greatness. We often think of majesty associated with royalty; kings and queens and robes and splendor. In America, we don’t have kings and queens per se, but we do have royalty of some kinds. We have people that we honor and esteem with awe, that kind of enter the room with greatness and majesty. In fact, in America, we’ve kind of perfected that art of epic majestic introduction. It’s in a lot of different areas.

One that was meaningful to me is I can’t remember the first time where I heard that Chicago Bulls soundtrack. They would introduce the basketball team, but the majesty was unmistakable. The arena would go dark. The lights would start to sparkle. The base would resound. The lasers would flash. The track begins. And one by one, the players would be announced until that final position, the team captain, the majestic leader. His number would flash on the megatron screen. It would later be perfected through that shadowy outline, the blur of his shoes, the glance at giant hands clutching a ball, the flickering shot of his eyes on fire, all the arena trembling at the building tension. Then finally, he would be announced with that guttural outburst, “From North Carolina…” We feel the majestic royalty even in our souls. We’re drawn to it.

The introductions that set the stage for these final great battles are not limited to basketball. We see it in all kinds of sports and music stadiums and talent competitions, all this and more. The thing is that those, as much as they draw us in, they are only copies. They are shadows of the true epic introduction that we get a preview of here in Revelation. It’s the glory of the true risen King, of the ultimate battle. We see here that they’ve taken their script directly from Him. You see the beautiful artistry in the beauty of the majesty.

It begins in a kind of interesting way with what it transcends. God doesn’t need millions of dollars to show His majesty. He doesn’t need big light shows and sound systems. He doesn’t need impressive voices and lighting. He doesn’t require big crowds and years of practice. He can transcend even the most obscure of circumstances through an unimpressive person here in verse 9. Who He comes to is His witness, John. Even John Himself was surprised.

9 I, John,

“Me. Here I am. I’m the one who received this testimony.” This apostle is a simple man. He says

your brother

“I’m not some high and distant person.” He’s a fellow partner.

and partner

“I’m a teammate, experiencing the same things. I’m a partner

in the tribulation

The suffering that comes, or the difficulty.”

and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus,

He is a simple sufferer, a follower of Jesus. He’s relatively unimpressive and he’s also in an isolated location that is obscure.

was on the island called Patmos

This was a little Greek island in the Aegean Sea where people were sent to as a sort of prison, to be banished, exiled. Nobodies were sent there. John was there, he says, because of persecution for two reasons. He says it was generally

on account of the word of God

And specifically, it was because of

and the testimony of Jesus.

He was exiled to Patmos, on an obscure, isolated island. Yet it is there that God chooses to reveal His majesty and He transcends all of that obscurity. In beautiful artistry, He comes. Here’s how the majesty feels and the overwhelming impression it makes in verses 10-16. John says

10 I was in the Spirit

He was communing with God. In a very unique way, it sets the stage for this vision.

on the Lord’s day,

That’s just the day Jesus rose from the dead, Sunday. Here he is. It begins with a sound. It will move to the sense of sight, but it begins with a sound.

and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

It’s attention-grabbing, unavoidable. It’s bursting like an announcement of something important. And the voice says in verse 11,

11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches,

In verse 11, you see those seven churches. They are actual places.

to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Ephesus was a church where John pastored. It follows a clockwise postal circuit in that along the road, about thirty miles or so, they just dropped the letters off on the way around. This is how it would proceed from Patmos. That’s what John heard. But we move to the second sense and learn what he saw. It’s almost like that popular tv show, The Voice. He hears this voice and then he turns around to see who is it that is speaking to me? On turning, John says

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw

He saw a symbolic setting.

seven golden lampstands,

These are lampstands that represent something important. We learn later that it’s the churches.

13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man,

He’s a familiar figure, yet altogether unexplainable. The impression of His appearance is meaningful, but also overwhelming. You see the priestly attire on this man who is

clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.

You see the flash of his pure hair.

14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow.

You see the glance of His piercing gaze.

His eyes were like a flame of fire,

They were penetrating. He had powerfully refining feet.

15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace,

It was inescapable. And again, there was that overwhelming, unstoppable voice.

and his voice was like the roar of many waters.

In verse 16, you see His controlling grip.

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth

There was a speech perfectly effective for what it sets out to do. It’s described as

came a sharp two-edged sword,

And through it all, there was the sight of His face.

and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

It was brilliant and blinding. In all ways this majesty is overwhelming in what it transcends and in how it feels. So it’s no surprise to see what it provokes.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

He simply collapses in a heap. This majesty is so glorious, so pure, so intense, so forceful, there is no response. It’s as if the life had gone out from him. It was a mere collapse. This is who Jesus is and how it feels to have an encounter with Him. It’s a reminder of that encounter that Saul had when he was blinded by light and drops down. To have a close encounter with Christ is overwhelming. His majesty is dramatic and utterly compelling. In light of His appearing, all else pales in comparison, because He is God.

This is the God of creation. He’s the God that we see His simple handiwork in the Milky Way galaxy and the DNA structure, at the planet earth specials, the design of the human body, the beauty of a concert, the wonder of a wedding. We lose our breath. That’s God. And that’s just the simple things. But to see the Designer personally, to witness as in the Old Testament those moments of divine appearance, though veiled, was overwhelming. Even before His servants, like angels, people often fall down as though dead. Now here is the glorious king. He’s God incarnate, risen and in His glory. He’s revealing Himself in a powerful way to John.

Now, John knew Jesus. He had been close with Jesus. He had spent time with Jesus. He loved Jesus. He knew Jesus loved him. In fact, he had even gotten a preview of this movie, as it were. In Matthew 17, he had gone up the mount of transfiguration. He had seen Jesus transfigured. He had been overwhelmed. He had fallen down. He had been touched by Jesus before, saying, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.” He had seen it. Yet, you know what? This wasn’t old news to him. He was overwhelmed just the same. To see this majesty was so overwhelming, he fell down as though dead. It’s the glory of the risen king. There is no majesty more captivating or compelling. This is a majesty that we can behold through God’s Word. This is the one who deserves our greatest awe and wonder. He ignites our imagination and affection more than any other.

Is that true for you? Does Jesus capture your attention? Have you experienced a close encounter with Christ where you recognize Him for who He is and you for who you are? Do you understand the majesty of the glory of the risen king? Revelation 1 shows that He is more worth beholding than anyone else. There is no one like Jesus. This is a unique testimony for us to believe and a dramatic majesty for us to behold. Last, we’ll say this impression. Not only how He speaks and what He’s like, but we’ll say, third, who He loves. What makes Jesus unique is who He loves. We can say it like this.

#3 A Messianic Authority to Respect (17b-20)

Authority meaning Him being in charge of what He decides to do and what He wants and even here in terms of who He loves. Who He loves is related to His role as Messiah. He loves whom He loves, and we see something very interesting here in Revelation 1. He is the Anointed, the Chosen One of God. His emphasis, His focus, His concern is on highlighting this salvation that He offers for those whom He loves.

There are all kinds of people and governments, audiences that He could have sought after. There are all kinds of concerns that He could have held as a priority, and yet, He chooses to focus on this simple follower in the middle of nowhere, a nobody, as it were, and these little churches in little towns. It’s surprising! But in His authority, this is what He chooses to do. You can see the powerful effects of this choice that we can respect.

First is the comfort that He chooses to offer. He has the authority as the Messiah to offer a comfort that nobody else can. You see that in verses 17-18. In John’s collapse, in his fall, he is desperate. He is as though dead. Jesus as Messiah has authority to offer comfort. You see what He does through a tender touch.

17 …But he laid his right hand on me,

Jesus, in His risen glory still is able to come and put His hand on John, offering comfort like none other. Also, He has some powerful words. He reiterates that command to John that He said so long ago on that mount of transfiguration.

saying, “Fear not,

He provides a tender touch and gives a simple command. “Don’t be afraid.” He can say that because of who He is, because of what He did, because of what He has, all as Messiah. This is an authority that He can claim. First, He says

I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one.

“I am the great eternal living God. That’s who I am.” You see His authority as the victorious Savior. He said

I died, and behold I am alive forevermore,

“I can offer comfort because I went through death and came out the other side.” As a result, here’s what He has. He is the ultimate judge. He says

and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

He can offer comfort to a man who feels as though dead because as it were, the chains of death, He is able to jingle the keys. I have authority! He offers comfort through this tender touch, through those powerful words and the claim. He comforts all those who trust in Him as Messiah. He is the Chosen One and He offers comfort to those who are His. It’s a comfort that He has authority to offer. But you also see the concern that He emphasizes. It’s a very specific concern. He is concerned spiritually for His people. Of all the things that He could be focused on, He says in verse 19

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen,

The things here in chapter 1.

those that are

The things taking place in chapters 2 and 3 in the churches.

and those that are to take place after this.

Chapters 4-22, all the future recorded. He says to write these things down. Why? “I want you to deliver these to the churches. I want my followers to have this communication. I care about them; these individual, little obscure, nobody churches.” He says

20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

The things that were so meaningful to Christ, the things that He was concerned with were just simple congregations. They were nobodies from nowhere. Jesus uses His authority, but as Messiah, to speak to, to comfort, to care for, to communicate with, to correct, to encourage His churches. These are His people. This is what He uses His authority to do. He is concerned for His churches. This is a concern, this is an authority, that we can respect.

We are so tempted to be enamored with the world around us. All the politics that would go on, all of the big global movements that would happen, any big leaders or economic changes, all the things that could consume our attention, these aren’t the things that are the great concern of Christ, as it were. He is over all. He knows. He reigns. Yet, in His authority, He chooses to focus on and to speak to nobodies from nowhere. It’s amazing that this is our God! It’s amazing that He would choose to love and care for undeserving, random people, sinners. As we would continue to read in Revelation, people who don’t deserve His love. Yet, He chooses to show love because they had believed His testimony.

Jesus Himself arrives like a nobody from nowhere; Galilee. He’s not afraid to reveal God’s glory in a way that no one would ever expect. In the economy of God, if we know anything by now, it’s that not everything is as it would seem. If we let this message of Christ, especially in a time of suffering, when we’re wondering about the future and what the future holds, this kind of testimony helps us to be shaped about the things that He would have us focus on. The world would scoff that this is unimportant, that this is obscure, that churches are unimportant. But God’s love is clear even for an obscure place like Peoria; Bethany Baptist Church. Because this is the way God has chosen to show we belong to Him. We’re adopted into His family. Where people come in and say, “What’s going on here. You don’t belong in this world.” No, you’re saying I belong to the kingdom of heaven. I’m a citizen of another realm.

God loves to show His glory even in our weakness. We so easily lose sight of that and we start looking for authority and identity and belonging in all kinds of associations; in the work that we do, the sports that we play, the skills that we have and the clubs that we’re a part of. We forget the precious authority that God chooses to use to express comfort and concern to His simple people in churches. One of the simplest ways to show you belong is by being a part of a church family. We’re reminded of this on days like today. Even a church like ours, with all of our weaknesses and sins and the mess and the brokenness, that a place like this could be a place where He would express grace and a church like Bethany Baptist Church could be a part of the apple of His eye. What a thought! Truly there is no one like Jesus.

Every once in a while there is a celebrity or an athlete that captures our attention in their passing. That was the case for many a year ago or so when Kobe Bryant tragically and suddenly passed away, along with his 13 year old daughter and seven others. For all the glory of his life, his death brought a swift and tragic end and a feeling of sadness and emptiness. There are so many that would say that in this world, that’s all that there is. Death is an emptiness that just rings in the names of so many that we once thought to be glorious and worthy of our praise. Death is a heavy word. But today, we remember it is not the last. Death is not the last for those who are in Jesus. In the midst of the heaviness of the word, we remember the hope of our Savior.

There is an artist that I enjoyed listening to in college. There is a song that is not meant to be disrespectful, but is meant to highlight the difference between all of the great influencers of the world and Jesus. It goes like this:

Elvis is dead, Picasso is dead

Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are dead

Marilyn Monroe is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Brando is dead, James Brown is dead

Princess Di and John Lennon are dead

Biggie and Pac are dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Plato is dead, Socrates is dead

Aristotle and Immanuel Kant are dead

Neitzsche and Darwin are dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Buddha is dead, Mohammed is dead

Ghandi and Haile Selassie are dead

Elijah Mohammed is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Nero is dead, Constantine is dead

Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun are dead

Alexander the Great is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Napoleon is dead, Lao Tzu is dead

Che Guevara and Henry VIII are dead

Saddam Hussein is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Pharaoh is dead, Cyrus is dead

Darius and Sennacharib are dead

Nebuchadnezzar is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Caesar is dead, Herod is dead

Annas, Caiaphas and Judas are dead

Pontius Pilate is dead—however

Jesus is Alive

Death is a very heavy reality. Today reminds us that the point is very simple. There is no one like Jesus because He is alive. This is the glory of the risen king. It’s a glory that never ends. It’s a glory and a life that is enjoyed by all who trust in Him. Will you trust him today?