Introducing the Lord Jesus Part 1

REVELATION Number 33

Introducing the Lord Jesus

Part 1

The Lord Jesus Christ introduces Himself in the letter to each church. The facets of His character and identity that He selects to highlight vary. By contemplating them in the aggregate, we gain a more comprehensive view of His vast greatness and majesty, His holiness and power, His mercy and justice.

Here are the facets by which He introduces Himself in the letters:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand
The One who walks among the seven golden lampstands
The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life
The One who has the sharp two-edged sword
The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like burnished bronze
He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens
The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God.

Let’s spend some time looking at these aspects of our Lord.

In the letter to the church at Ephesus the Lord Jesus begins by introducing Himself as the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand. In Revelation 1:20 we read that the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches.

As I wrote earlier in our study, it is my view that ‘angels’ is best understood to be referring to the elders, overseers, or teachers of the churches. The Lord holds them in His hand, having authority over them and protecting them as ambassadors and under-shepherds of the flock. They are then responsible to read the letters and exhort those in their local fellowships.

The Lord goes on to points out that He walks among the seven golden lampstands, which, as we saw in Revelation 1:20, are His Church. What comfort it is that our gracious Lord is so intimately involved with those charged with shepherding local flocks and also with we fellowshipping believers who comprise the Church. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:1-5 puts it this way:
“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with jubilation;
Come before Him with rejoicing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courtyards with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting
And His faithfulness is to all generations.
(NASB 2020)

To those in Smyrna, our gracious Lord introduces Himself as the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.

The Lord Jesus is the beginning, the end, and everything in between. The Apostle wrote in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” John 1:1–4 (NASB 2020)

Similarly, Paul wrote, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Colossians 1:15–18 (NASB 2020)

The writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 (NASB 2020)

He is the first and the last, but He is also the One who was dead and has come to life. I love what our brother Jim Fowler has to say about this. In his Revelation commentary he writes “Ever so subtly, some have religiously emphasized the cross and the crucifixion death of Jesus rather than the resurrection, making Jesus into a martyr model, and encouraging masochistic self-crucifixion amongst Christians rather than living by the resurrection dynamic of Christ’s life.”

Far too often in our gatherings the resurrection and its effects on us is left out. Often we have focused on the suffering and death of the Lord Christ and viewed His bearing and forgiveness of our sins as the entirety of the Gospel. It’s true that the Lord Jesus died for our sins. It’s true that He has provided forgiveness for our sins and that He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness, and we never want to minimize or gloss over that.

At the same time, it is true that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, triumphing over the grave. It’s true that His resurrection provides us with the possibility of being raised to eternal Life in Him. This is the fullness of the good news. This is the Truth that makes us free to live without fear of God’s punishment. That He rose from the dead guarantees that we who by faith have been immersed in Him will, as He promised in John 11:25, live even though we die.