Behold The Living Jesus Christ

Our passage for today is Revelation chapter 1 verses 17 and 18.

Revelation 1:17

We believe that the whole Bible is given by God's inspiration, breathed out by the Holy Spirit of God.

But he did this using men, using these scribes who were eyewitnesses and who were prophets and were writing down what God has done, what God has enacted in human history.

And he's preserved it by his power in the Bible, in his holy word.

Jeremiah read for us the account of how the disciples gathered around the cross and Jesus promised to meet them.

One of the disciples that was very close to Jesus was John.

And by this point in the first century church, John is most likely the only disciple still alive.

Tradition has it that John had been tortured though.

He had been put in a vat of boiling oil so he would have been physically deformed and he was exiled to an island called Patmos all alone.

And here we are joined by brothers and sisters in the family of God sharing in our faith together.

And he had the worst type of torture perhaps on this island which was solitary confinement away from the church all alone.

And the Lord ministered to this disciple John.

He gave them a vision.

He brought them spiritually, brought John spiritually into heaven, into the presence of Jesus Christ.

And this is what he writes down for us in Revelation chapter 1 verses 17 and 18.

Revelation 1:17

When I saw him, this is Jesus Christ risen from the dead in glory with God.

John says,

Amen.

And I have the keys of Hades and of death.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

Oh Lord, please speak to everyone that you've brought here, Lord.

By your power, for your glory.

Please turn our eyes upon Jesus.

That the things of earth may grow strangely dim.

In the light of his glory.

In grace we ask for the sake of Jesus, Lord.

For the sake of your name.

And for his work that he accomplished.

Amen.

Well brothers and sisters and dear friends.

A very simple invitation for you today.

For each of us.

And it's this.

Behold the living Jesus Christ.

Behold the living Jesus Christ.

That word behold.

It's an older word in English.

But it's used 1,326 times in all of the Bible.

An example is John 1 29.

John the Baptist preaches behold Jesus Christ.

The Lamb of God.

Who takes away sin.

To behold.

To behold.

To behold.

According to Noah Webster's dictionary of 1828.

It's to lock the eyes upon something.

To see with attention.

To observe with care.

To put all that you have in attending to a thing.

To direct and to fix your mind on a subject.

To behold.

I call you to behold the living Jesus Christ with all of Scripture.

But we do this not by sight physically, but by faith.

Faith is to know something is true, even though you can't see it.

And in this way, by the power of the Spirit,

let's pray together that God will cause us to behold the living Jesus Christ,

to gaze at Him, to ponder Him, to contemplate Him.

In an undistracted meditation,

I'll invite you to behold Jesus Christ in four ways today.

And as we behold Jesus, we behold the glory of God as He's revealed it to us.

The first way I invite you to behold with eyes of faith today,

Jesus Christ is in His love.

Behold the love of God to us in Jesus Christ,

to you who will receive it.

Did you notice in Revelation 117,

John says,

When I saw, when I beheld Jesus,

Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God,

who took upon Himself our nature with all that makes us human

and all of our common infirmities.

Yet He did this without sin.

This is who John beheld.

It's the same man that He walked with on earth.

Him, Jesus Christ, now in glory, the King of kings in heaven.

The same Jesus, as we read, who wore a crown of thorns for sinners.

Him, Jesus Christ, the Word of God,

that breathed this world into existence, the Creator of all,

who then became for sinners a man of sorrows,

mocked, humiliated, esteemed not, despised, tortured, killed,

and even buried to pay the price of the sins of His people.

And now John saw Him, Jesus Christ,

that He had seen crucified and buried in His full splendor,

fulfilling His office, the God-man,

exalted in His resurrected and glorified body.

John beheld Jesus.

Did you notice His reaction?

Look at verse 17.

I fell at His feet as dead.

John's natural reaction is a paralyzing terror.

John was experiencing this physically,

but he's describing his body.

I'm sorry, describing this spiritual encounter

while his body is on the island of Patmos,

but it was still his body being thrown down.

Can you imagine your cheeks and your eyes pushed into the dirt

at the feet of the resurrected Jesus?

Some within earshot today may have been so far from God

for so long

that even hearing the powerful name of Jesus Christ,

the living Jesus Christ,

so many times in a row like this,

it may be striking you with the same terror.

The same terror as John.

You feel like you need to run away

or just throw yourself down on the dirt.

If you're like me,

in our flesh and our weakness,

you can hear the accusations of your own conscience

and of Satan,

the accuser condemning you.

It's terrifying to behold Jesus Christ in glory.

Maybe you're telling yourself,

God sees right through you.

You're exposed.

Run away.

Hide from Him.

But notice next

how God,

the living Jesus Christ,

is so gentle

and He's so patient

with John

and with you

and with me.

He is long-suffering toward all,

desiring that none should perish.

While John says,

I fell at His feet

as though dead.

He,

Jesus Christ,

laid His right hand on me,

saying to me,

do not be afraid.

Do you notice

it's this repetition

from His account

of the resurrection?

The women that gathered

and saw,

they fell down

and they were

holding on

to the feet of Jesus.

And these same words

come from heaven

like they did

from the angel.

Now from Jesus Himself,

do not be afraid.

Be unafraid

when you are with Jesus.

Jesus,

how is this possible?

It's not because

John or you or I

deserve to be

in God's presence.

John knows

what we all need to know.

We cannot survive

by our own merits

in God's presence.

No one can as a sinner.

But Jesus commands John

and He commands you and me.

Putting His right hand

touching you.

You can feel the warmth.

He's alive.

That same hand

that had the nail go through.

it.

Touching those

He's calling.

Don't be afraid.

Why?

On what basis?

He says,

I am

the first

and the last.

It's who Jesus is

that makes us

not live

in fear

and even to be

in His presence.

Jesus is

the loving God Himself,

the great I am.

Behold,

with eyes of faith

today

this glorious,

loving God

and the person

of Jesus Christ

for you and me

who will receive Him.

And I pray that you will today.

Number two,

behold with eyes of faith

today

the victory

of Jesus Christ

for you who love Him

because He first loved you.

Behold His victory.

notice what He says next

in verse 18.

Don't be afraid, John.

I am

He who lives

and was dead.

Behold,

I am alive

forevermore.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen means

let it be so.

What He has spoken,

receive it with His authority

and affirm it.

Him,

Jesus Christ,

fulfilling

this office

God has given Him

to redeem,

to be a mediator,

to be the one

who will pray

for His people

pleading for us.

The one who so loves us

even though

we've rejected Him

for so long.

He says to you and me,

I am

the first

and the last.

Jesus Christ

is the

only begotten

Son of God,

the brightness

of God's glory.

He is the true

and eternal God Himself.

Jesus is the Alpha

and the Omega,

the beginning

and the end.

He says,

I'm the first

and the last.

This is a figure

of speech

where two opposites

are used

to encompass

everything in between.

And Jesus is claiming

here the name

of God Himself

from the Old Testament.

God is the one

who says,

I am always alive.

I am the living one.

Isaiah 44 verse 6,

Isaiah 44:6

God says,

I am the first

and the last.

Besides me,

there is no God.

The living Jesus Christ

is God

who came to save.

I am He

who lives

and was dead.

Don't be afraid, John.

You understand

what has happened here.

I,

God the Son,

am alive

and I was dead.

I truly did that.

I accomplished

your salvation.

Jesus Christ,

He truly

was crucified

and died

and on the third day

He has risen

from the dead

with the same body

in which He suffered,

with which He also

ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand

of His Father,

living to intercede

for His people,

to pray for them.

1 Corinthians 15,

7 and 18 says,

If Christ is not risen,

your faith is futile.

You are still

in your sins.

Then also,

those who have fallen asleep

in Christ

have perished.

Do you see?

Christ truly died,

but we don't need

to be afraid anymore

because He died

to bury our sin

and the Lord

rose from the dead

to prove that His life

and His death

satisfied

the holy requirements

of a just God.

Think about this.

If our debt

had not been paid

on the cross,

then Jesus,

as our substitute,

would have never

been permitted

justly

to come out

of prison

of the grave.

The resurrection

of Christ

is the great

discharge,

someone wrote,

the public acquittal

of the believer.

It means you are

truly pardoned,

truly set free.

And because Christ

rose from the dead

in His same

resurrected body,

God calls Him

the first fruits

of a great harvest.

The first fruits

are given to God.

They're holy,

they're consecrated,

they're set apart

for God.

And so will

the whole harvest be.

This is where

our hope comes.

Because Jesus lives.

All who know

life in Jesus now

will also

live with Him.

See,

the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

is like an earnest

or a deposit

of what comes next

for each of us

that trust in Him.

It's the morning star

of the great resurrection

of all those

He saved.

As surely as

Jesus,

the head is risen,

so surely

shall the members

of His body

follow along.

Acts 2.24

tells us

it was not possible

that Jesus

should be held

by death.

Romans 6.9

says,

we know that Christ

having been raised

from the dead

dies no more.

Death no longer

has dominion

over Him.

And this is what

Jesus preaches

to John

and to you

and me.

I am

the living

one.

This is more

than just saying

I'm alive.

It means that Jesus

combines in His

one person

these two

contrasting titles.

He is the slain

Lamb of God

and at the same time

He's the living

Lord.

A pastor

from a long time ago

named John Flavel

wrote this,

when Christ

was laid in the grave

death

seemed

to have the victory

but it was only

that He might

pull out

its sting,

the sting of death.

The grave

which was a prison

is now

for the Christian

a bed

of rest.

Christ has

perfumed

the grave

by His body

and He warmed

it for ours.

He went

into the grave

as our front

runner

and came out

of the grave

as our conquer.

Amen.

Behold

with eyes

of faith

today

the victory

of Jesus Christ

for you

who love

Him

because He

first loved

you and me.

number three

behold

with eyes

of faith

today

the power

of Jesus

Christ

for you

who live

in Him.

Behold

with eyes

of faith

the power

of Jesus

Christ

for all

who live

in Him.

Jesus

says next

in verse

18

I have

the keys

of Hades

and of death.

Jesus

is the key

holder.

In the ancient

Roman world

there was a title

for the holder

of the keys.

The word for key

is clavis

so the

clavicularius

is the key

bearer

and it was a

very high ranking

officer

entrusted

to control

access

into the

emperor's

treasury

or to the

grain

stores

of a city.

To the

first century

reader

death

and Hades

were the

realm

of the

dead.

Some of you

know this

from Greek

mythology

and he's

using this

metaphor

to say

death

and the

underworld

where the

dead bodies

go.

it's like

a fortified

city

with locked

gates

who up

here

from this

realm

can get

in

or get

out.

And Hades

was a

Greek term

used by the

Roman world

as well

and it was

referring to

like a

waiting room

before your

final death

an intermediate

state.

And this

language that

John is using

it's so the

church can hear

every notion

that you've

heard about

what happens

after this

life and

death.

Christ is

the one

who rules

over it

who lives

to intercede

and to bring

his people

out of

death

and spiritual

torment

into heaven

into paradise

with him.

Christ holds

the keys.

It means that

he has invaded

enemy territory

and he has

plundered it.

He isn't just

a survivor

of death.

Jesus is risen

as the master

over death.

1 Corinthians

15 20

and 21

says

now Christ

is risen

from the

dead

and has

become

the first

fruits

for all

who have

fallen asleep

for since

by man

came death

by man

also

came the

resurrection

of the

dead.

This is

the power

of Jesus

over the

grave

that having

risen from

the dead

he's now

enthroned

in heaven

uniting

in his

one

wonderful

person.

The tenderest

sympathies

of divine

perfections

and he's

also qualified

to be

our suitable

compassionate

and all

sufficient

savior.

This is

the power

of Jesus

over death

to minister

to you

and me

who will

trust him

today.

He says

I hold

the keys

of Hades

and of

death.

He has

authority

he has

power.

There was

a Roman

god

a false

god

named

Janus

and he

was

often

depicted

holding

keys

to the

gates

of

heaven

and the

doors

of war

and peace

and Christ

is saying

in this

apocalyptic

language of

John

that Jesus

is the

true

lord

and ruler

of the

afterlife.

He strips

all the

Roman gods

of their

perceived

power

in the

afterlife.

Jesus

claims

to be

the only

one

with the

master

key.

Think

about this

Jesus

doesn't

leave the

key

to life

after

death

in the

hands

of an

angel.

He

doesn't

leave it

in the

hands

of

anyone

else.

He

personally

holds

it

still

and

uses

this

at

his

pleasure.

He

keeps

every

soul

that

belongs

to

him

in

his

own

hand.

This

is our

only hope

in life

and in

death.

This

is the

same

creator

God.

Someone

pointed

out

at

creation

it was

on the

third

day

that

God

caused

the

trees

and the

grass

and the

vegetation

to

flourish.

And we

get in the

New Testament

the language

of a

seed

being put

into the

earth

to die.

And by

the death

of a

seed

springs up

new life.

And this

happened on

the third

day of

creation.

Now the

third day

after being

buried like

a seed

Jesus

risen from

the dead.

The promise

of resurrection

life and

springing up

new creation

creation.

It's been

baked into

God's

plan from

the very

beginning.

This is

our hope

that every

loved one

that we

have had

to bury

in Christ

will receive

a new

glorified body

and live

with Jesus.

And we

can trust

this because

Christ is

the one

that has

the key

the authority

to make

this so.

I've

mentioned

to some

of you

and the

songs and

the kings

got to

go to

the

Netherlands

and meet

this pastor

I'm referring

to.

In the

Netherlands

almost everyone

rides their

bicycles

everywhere.

And this

pastor had

come about

two hours

away to

be part

of a

little

conference.

It was

an academic

meeting and

he was

coming to

understand the

teachings of

this old

pastor from

many centuries

ago,

John

Flavel.

And he

asked very

difficult

questions,

was very

sharp.

He was a

pastor in a

different town

and then

afterwards when

it was all

over during

a little

reception,

this pastor

came over

and talked

to me and

his eyes

were welling

up and

he swallowed

hard and

he said the

reason this

topic of

life,

death,

and the

ministry of

Jesus around

the deathbed

is so tender

to him is

because when

his daughter

was I

believe 16

years old,

she was on

her bike and

a bus,

didn't see

her,

turning a

corner and

hit her and

his daughter

died.

And he

had trouble

getting these

words out,

but he says

he thinks of

her every

day and

it helped

him to

appreciate the

love of

God the

Father and

giving his

son,

Jesus Christ,

who would

lay down

his life so

that sinners

like us could

belong to

him and be

brought into

his family.

And the

resurrection of

Jesus is his

only hope that

we will be

around the

throne of

Jesus together.

father, he

said, these

thoughts of

God have

made him more

patient as a

pastor, as a

husband, as a

father, more

tender, more

full of gratitude

for God.

And this

Puritan John

Flavel wrote,

what a hole

that the death of

some children have

made in the

hearts of some

parents which

will never close

up in this

world.

John Flavel

lost children and

a wife too.

that hole will

never be healed

in this life.

It's always

there.

But he wrote,

yet surely

never did any

child lie so

close to a

parent's heart

as Christ did

to his

fathers.

And yet he

willingly parted

with him,

his only son,

the son of his

delights,

and that to

death, a

cursed death

for sinners.

And it's

specifically because

Jesus Christ was

slain.

on the cross

that Jesus

now has this

authority,

this power,

this right

over death

because he

bought it

with his

own life.

No one

gets out of

this world

or enters

into the

next except

through the

permission of

Jesus Christ

and by God's

appointment.

Romans 8,

34 asks the

question,

who is he

who condemns?

Satan wants

to accuse

and attack.

And God

says instead,

no, think

of Christ

who died

and furthermore

is also

risen,

who is even

at the right

hand of God

and who also

makes intercession

for us.

No one

can condemn

you.

Jesus is

alive,

ministering.

Behold,

with eyes

of faith

today,

the power

of Jesus

Christ

for you

and me

who will

know life

in him

today.

Finally,

number four,

behold,

with eyes

of faith

today,

in his

power,

in his

love,

the living

ministry

of Jesus

Christ

to all

who will

hope in

him.

Behold,

with eyes

of faith

that Jesus

lives to

minister

to all

who will

put our

hope in

him.

I want

to take

you back

to the

final words

that Jesus

said.

Behold,

I am

alive

forevermore.

I am

alive

forevermore.

Romans 8

11 tells

us,

if the

spirit of

Christ

raised

from the

dead

now dwells

in you,

church,

you who

believe in

him,

he was

raised

from the

dead,

and so

also he

gives life

to your

mortal bodies

through his

spirit who

dwells in

you.

This is

his living

ministry

because he's

alive forevermore.

His spirit

works powerfully

in us

while we're

still in

these bodies

on earth.

Recently,

a dear

brother

described

how God

melted

his heart

and it

was the

image of

baptism

and of

being

engrafted

into

Jesus.

Jesus

said,

apart

from me

you can

do

nothing,

but I'm

the true

vine.

You are

engrafted

into

Christ.

You're

a branch

brought

into

him

and

the

life

of

Christ

who

lives

forevermore

flows

through

you.

That

melts

our

hearts.

Think

of the

imagery.

Because

we're

buried

with

Christ

in

our

baptism,

we have

the

promise

that

we

are

also

spiritually

raised

to

life

in

Christ

now

and

we

will

be

raised

in

a

resurrected

body

with

him

one

day.

He

lives

forever

more

and

if

you're

alive

in

Christ

you

will

live

with

him

forever

more.

You

don't

need

to

fear

death

anymore.

It

has

no

more

sting.

This

is

the

ministry

of

Christ.

The

living

Lord

Jesus,

the

head

of

his

church.

Someone

mentioned

that

they've

stopped

by

at

these

open

air

services

for

many

years

now.

Dan

mentioned

it's

now

become

our

little

tradition

and

it's

not

enough

to

stop

and

think

about

Jesus

once

a

year,

twice

a

year,

every

now

and

then.

Jesus

is

ministering

that

you

will

abide

in

him

every

single

day

apart

from

him

death.

He

calls

you

to

be

in

his

family

to

obey

all

that

he's

commanded.

By

the

father's

appointment

he

has

all

authority

and

he

ministers

over

his

church.

God

has

given

Jesus

this

role

now

to

be

the

supreme

sovereign

ruler

and

minister.

He

is

the

one

who

calls

people

to

himself.

He

is

the

one

who

instituted

the

church.

He

is

the

one

who

puts

each

of

our

lives

in

order.

He

is

the

one

who

governs

his

people.

He

ministers

as

the

living

God

with

authority

over

his

visible

kingdom

on

earth.

Local

churches

like

this

one.

Not

only

this

one,

many

others,

hundreds

of

other

faithful

local

churches.

But

this

is

the

living

ministry

of

Jesus

Christ

until

he

comes

again.

It's

through

faithful

churches

!

churches

are the

divinely

ordained

theater

through which

the

holy

God

himself

sovereignly

moves

us

forward.

He

uses the

preaching

of the

word

even

through

earthen

vessels,

the

reading of

the scriptures,

the prayers,

taking the

Lord's

Supper,

celebrating

baptisms

together.

These simple

means that

he's ordained

are the way

he ministers

as our

living

Jesus

Christ

from

heaven.

As

believers

gather

under

the

authoritative

preaching

of

his

word

and

a

biblical

church

to

the

best

of

our

ability,

God

finalizes

his

purposes

in

each

of

our

lives.

It's

not

something

we do

alone,

we do

it

together

as

his

body.

These

are

corporate

means

and

they're

the

primary

instruments

that

the

spirit

loves

to

use

now.

And

as

we're

doing

these

things

that

he's

commanded,

!

and

he's

praying

power

in

the

lives

of

those

he

draws

to

himself.

He

reveals

to

us

in

and

by

his

word

the

mysteries

of

salvation.

He

effectively

persuades

us

by

his

Holy

Spirit

to

believe

him

and

to

obey.

It's

the

living

Jesus

Christ

who

finished

his

work

for

us

and

he

promises

that

he

will

also

finish

his

work

in

us.

It's

his

to

do

for

his

glory.

Hebrews

12

tells us

he's

not only

the

author

but

also

the

finisher

of

our

faith.

He

began

this

good

work

in

us

and

he

will

finish

preparing

each

one

that

he

redeemed

for

eternity

with

him.

He

promises

to

one

day

offer

up

every

one

of

us

that

he

purchased

with

his

own

body

and

blood

perfect

and

complete

before

the

holy

God.

So

we

can

say

in

1 Peter

1

3

blessed

be

the

God

and

Father

of

the

living

Lord

Jesus

who

according

to

his

abundant

mercy

has

begotten

us

again

to a

living

hope

through

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

Christ

from

the

dead.

Behold

him

today.

Don't put

it off.

Go

to

him.

Ask

God

to give

you

eyes

to see

this

living

Jesus

and

follow

him

as

his

disciple.

He

calls

you

see

his

love

and

receive

him

as

your

Lord

in

power.

Let

him

put

your

life

in

order.

Stop

trying

to do

it

on

your

own.

Throw

yourself

like

the

women

like

John

at

his

feet.

Let

his

power

sweep

over

you

and

experience

the

peace

that

passes

understanding

that

can

only

come

from

being

in

his

presence.

Let's

go to

him

in

prayer.

Lord

you

were

lifted

up

on

the

cross

then

you

were

lifted

up

in

glory

and

you

say

the

reason

you

were

lifted

up

is

to

draw

all

men

from

all

nations

tribes

and

tongues

to

you

before

your

throne.

Lord

I

pray

that

your

spirit

will

cause

each

one

here

Lord

to

behold

you

by

faith

to

see

your

glory

your

majesty

and

your

throne

and

I

pray

Lord

that

our

prayers

are

joined

to

Christ

and

that

they

are

powerful

because

Christ

is