Portrait of the King

 Jesu Juva

Revelation 1:4b-8                                     

November 24, 2024

Last Sunday B                           

 Dear saints of our Savior,

        Well, we’ve finally made it.  Another church year is now almost behind us.  It’s the last Sunday of the Church Year.  And on this Last Sunday, in all three Scripture readings, Jesus is depicted as a King—a King with a Kingdom.

        To better understand this King and His Kingdom, I’d like you to join me in a little thought experiment:  You are an artist.  With paint and canvass you can create masterpieces of color and beauty.  Your assignment?  Paint a portrait of Jesus.  Not a mural with many scenes of the Savior.  Not a triptych with a trio of depictions.  Just one, single, solitary portrait of Jesus.  You may depict Jesus in any way you choose—but you get only one shot.

        How would you portray the Savior in your painting?  How would you narrow down the almost limitless possibilities?  Would it be a crucifixion scene with blood and darkness?  Or a kinder, gentler scene of Jesus and the little children?  What about Jesus the gentle healer, bending down at the bedside of some sick soul? 

        Whichever direction you go, the artistic choices you make might say as much about you as about your Savior.  Do you feel the depth of your sin and its wages?  Then paint the crucifixion where your sin was dealt with definitively.  Do you or a loved one suffer from debilitating illness?  Then paint the healing hands of Jesus.  Do you long for a Savior who can identify with the frailty of your humanity? Then paint the Christ child—the Messiah in the manger.

        In the book of Revelation, St. John “paints” an amazing portrait of our King, Jesus.  It’s not a portrait of colors and canvass, but of words divinely inspired and revealed.  We need this portrait.  The persecuted believers of the First Century—they also needed this portrait of Jesus.

        John’s depiction of Jesus in today’s Revelation reading is unrivaled.  Phrase after phrase—superlative after superlative—spills out onto the page.  Jesus is: the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

        The first recipients of Revelation were persecuted for their faith.  Many had been martyred.  John calls Jesus the “faithful witness,” or the “faithful martyr.”  Jesus had faithfully born witness to the truth, and paid for it with His very life.  This portrait of Jesus says to the viewer whose life is at risk, “You, too, be faithful unto death.  Do not be afraid; but hold firmly to the truth of Jesus.” 

        This Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. Death could not hold Him; and it will not hold you either.  Other resurrections had preceded the resurrection of Jesus; but only Jesus was raised never to die again.  He’s the firstborn; you and I follow after Him.

        This Jesus is the ruler of kings on earth.  He is the King over every other king.  The rulers in Rome seemed powerful and mighty—while many Christians felt powerless and afraid.  But Jesus rules over every earthly ruler.  They all work for Him (whether they know it or not).  Are you feeling powerless and discouraged at the outcome of recent elections?  Fear not!  John’s portrait of King Jesus brings good news of great joy:  Jesus Christ is the ruler of kings on earth.  The power of presidents, prime ministers, and potentates comes from Jesus, who orders all of history for His divine purposes.

        John fills out his portrait of Jesus with this astoundingly beautiful sentence:  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.  This is the focal point.  It’s this dimension of John’s portrait that draws us in.  It tells us everything—all we need to know about God and about ourselves; about the past, present and future.  It tells us that in Jesus Christ, you are winning.  You are marching onward toward eternal victory. 

        At the heart of it all is God’s love for sinners.  That’s how this saving sentence begins:  To Him who loves us.  Jesus Christ loves us.  And please note how that verb is in the present tense which, in the original Greek, indicates ongoing, continual action.  Nothing can change the fact of His love for you.  Nothing can separate you from that love.  And God’s love is not a feeling, but a doing.  It’s always expressed in action.  He is for you, working all things for your eternal good.

        This kingly love sets us free!  It’s not the freedom to do whatever you want—not the freedom to keep on sinning—but a far better freedom:  [Jesus] has freed us from our sins by His blood.  Jesus has freed you from your sins.  And please note that this verb is past tense which, in the original Greek indicates completed action—a done deal, mission accomplished.  It is finished.  Jesus has freed you from your sins.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 

        This is what happened at Calvary’s cross.  You and your sins were separated.  All that would weigh you down and pull you down to the depths of hell can drag you down no longer.  At Calvary, your sins became Jesus’ problem, Jesus’ burden, Jesus’ curse.  The shackles of your sin have been unlocked and removed.  Hell has no hold over you.  Your sin condemns you no longer because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was condemned and crucified for you.  Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  You are forgiven.  You are free.  Your sins and shortcomings do not define you.  In the midst of life’s chaos, this is the theme that matters most.  Feast your eyes on this portrait of truth:  You are loved by God, and He has freed you from your sins by His blood.

        You need to watch out for those who try to divert your gaze from this saving portrait.  Satan seeks to insert a mirror between you and this portrait of our Savior.  That miserable mirror takes the focus off of Jesus.  It distorts reality like some carnival fun-house mirror.  This mirror portrays a different truth concerning you:  “You are not good enough.  You do not measure up.  You are a disappointment.  You are flawed—an unforgivable failure—worthless, hopeless, useless, alone.”  Have you looked into that mirror before?  The message of this mirror can come from your own conscience.  It can come from someone who is supposed to love you.  But whoever would dare to say these things about you is just a mouthpiece for Satan. 

        Fix your eyes on Jesus.  Feast your eyes on the portrait of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords.  For this portrait of Jesus changes everything in the eyes of the beholders.  In fact, John’s portrait of Jesus transforms those who behold it in faith.  It changes you to see and believe that Jesus loves us.  He has freed us from our sins! 

        Those words change everything.  You are not a flawed failure.  You are not worthless.  You are loved—loved by the Lord Jesus—the ruler of kings on earth.   To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 

        This kingly portrait is the backdrop every time we gather here—here where heaven and earth intersect.  And this kingly portrait follows us when we leave.  It is the scenery of salvation.  It is the landscape of our lives.  For we have been made to be a kingdom.  You are not alone.  You are a member of God’s kingdom.  Your citizenship is in heaven.

        In your baptism, you also became a priest.  That means that the work you do is holy work.  God has given you vocations—holy work—sacrificial work—marching orders for you to carry out in your family, in your church, in your neighborhood, at school and on the job.  You belong to the priesthood of the baptized.  Your work is holy work.  It can be hard and difficult work too.  God includes you in His portrait.  You participate in His reign and rule.  God has a plan and a purpose for your life.  You can’t always see it.  You can’t always feel it.  It’s something we can only believe by faith.

        But God does give you gifts you can see and hear and taste and touch and smell.  God gives you a pastor to preach to you.  God gives you the splash of your baptism.  And God gives you the body and blood of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper.  The very blood that was shed to free you from your sins—that blood is given from this altar so that you might not doubt, but firmly believe, that you have a place of priestly privilege by the power of Jesus Christ.  He is your King.  I can’t think of a better way to end the church year than with this King set before our eyes. 

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