A New Revelation of Jesus

One of the great things about worship is that Jesus can show up at any time.  And many times He shows up in a way that we didn’t expect Him to.  And that’s what this week’s post (devotion) is going to be about.  And to do so, we’re going to look at an experience of the Apostle John in the book of Revelation, chapter 1.

  

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Here we see the Apostle John, and he is having a rough time in life.  Historians tell us that he is probably in his early to mid 80’s at this time.  He has gotten in trouble with the Roman Emperor Domitian for teaching and preaching the gospel.  Domitian initially tried to kill him by boiling him in oil.  But it didn’t work.  John suffered no physical harm.  And so, Domitian exiles him to this island called Patmos to work in the marble quarries.

John’s description of where he is located is very telling.  If he were somewhere well known, he would have just said, for example, “I’m in Rome”.  But he didn’t, because he’s stuck on this island that no one knows about.  And no one knows about it, because there’s nothing there.  Not then, not now.  Currently, there are cruise ships that will take you to Patmos for 3-6 hour visits.  Do you know why?  Because it is mentioned right here in the book of Revelation (the cave where John received this revelation is the highlight of the tour).  So John describes it as the island called Patmos.  He is stuck in this place called Patmos.

 

Like John, are you stuck somewhere today?  His was called Patmos.  What is yours called?  Is it called depression?  Or worry?  Or fear?  Is it a place called lost or lonely?  What’s it called?

We are all somewhere. 

I want you to know that you are not alone.  John writes that he is our brother in tribulation (suffering).  He suffered just like we do.  And our suffering unites us together.  We are all a part of the family of God and we all suffer together.  We are all brothers and sisters in good times and bad.  Wherever you are, you are not alone.

But suffering doesn’t just unite us with each other.  It also unites us with Jesus.  Suffering makes us more like Him.  

So, here is John, on this island called Patmos, probably thinking he was going to die here.  An elderly man, working in a mine with a pick-ax doesn’t sound like someone with much of a future.  I’m sure he was down and needed something or someone to give him a little bit of hope.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 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.

There’s lots of good stuff here with the voice like a trumpet and the seven churches and the seven lampstands, and Jesus walking in the midst of the lampstands and what that means, but I want us to jump to verse 13.

John writes that he saw one “like” a son of man.  Jesus’ favorite name for himself was “son of man”.  So, this was Jesus.  And John knew Jesus.  He was one of Jesus’ first disciples.  He’s the one disciple who was present at the cross.  He knew what Jesus looked like.  He knew what Jesus sounded like.  But this Jesus was different.  He was “like” a son of man, but He was so much more.  He was dressed differently, his eyes burned like fire, his hair was white like snow, his feet were bronze, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 

When John was at his lowest, Jesus showed up.  And He didn’t show up in a way that John had ever seen before.  This was a new revelation of Jesus.  And when we are down, when we are at our lowest, what we truly need is a new revelation of Jesus.  

Now this next part is my favorite.  John sees Jesus and just drops to the ground as though he were dead.  But then Jesus lays his right hand on John and says “Fear not”.  His right hand!  The same hand that one verse earlier is holding stars is now touching John!  Even Jesus in this glorified state (white hair, eyes of flames) is still full of compassion. 

Then Jesus says, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Considering his age and being exiled to work in a mine, John was probably very aware of death and how close he was to it.  So, Jesus says, don’t worry about death.  Not only have I overcome death, I’ve got the keys to it.  I was thinking about this, and while every once in a while I do think about my own mortality, I’m not really scared of death.  But there are things in my life that scare me to death.  The health and safety of my family being the biggest ones.  Yours might be different.  But I believe Jesus is telling us that whether we’re scared of death or just scared to death, “Fear not, because I’ve got the keys to death and I have overcome it”. 

But maybe death and fear aren’t the places you are in.  Maybe your life just feels like a living Hades.  It’s overwhelming and exhausting and you don’t know what to do.  I want you to know that Jesus says “Fear not, I’ve got the keys to Hades as well and I have overcome it”.

Through Christ we can overcome anything.  We are conquerors and we can be victorious!

And I believe that the first step in overcoming is to have a fresh revelation of Jesus.  And for me, worship is one of the best ways to see Jesus and experience Him in new and refreshing ways.  And so I hope the next time you have the opportunity to worship, you'll take advantage of it.  Because you never know when Jesus will show up.

Worship Big!

Brad