Jesus: Lord

Revelation 19:11-16

We all love the end of a story, especially when it says, “…and they lived happily ever after.”

We love it when the villain gets punished, when the lost dog finds his way home, the teacher finally turns her class around, when the underdog team wins the championship or when the dedicated musician finally gets a big break.

Let’s face it we like resolution, solved mysteries, happily ever after. Maybe we like that because that is seldom the way we find this world. We can’t stand it when resolution does not come, primarily because we have lost sight of the fact that Jesus is Lord!

A Dangerous World

In the book of Revelation, The Apostle John is writing to seven churches under the power of Roman. The Romans were very suspicious of new religions. The Jews had won a little freedom in their worship and were tolerated in the Roman world, which was not the case with the Christians. Christians found themselves on the outs with the Romans on a number of points. They refused to be part of the trade guilds because they refused to honor the gods associated with those guilds. They were branded as traitors by the Romans because they refused to burn an offering of incense to the Emperor and make the declaration, “Caesar is Lord.”

When new Christians were baptized they made the confession, “Jesus is Lord,” it put them in conflict with the whole culture of that day.

To remain faithful to Christ they had to be in conflict with every other aspect of life. So, they were persecuted, oppressed, denied rights branded as criminals, traitors and enemies of the state. They became the scapegoats of the whole empire and were killed by the thousands just for the entertainment of the crowds in the Roman Coliseum.

As the Book of Revelation opens John encourages and corrects the churches of the empire toward to ideas faithfulness and hope.

To make the confession, Jesus as Lord in that context was seen as stupid, irrational and dangerous. But, Christians knew something – Jesus was indeed Lord, so how could they say any different. They also had the hope that one day Jesus would come back to set everything straight. Their confession put them at odds with everything in their world, but that world was not the last word.

Revelation

The book of revelation reminds us of a truth we cannot see because we are blinded by our current circumstances. It tells us that in spite of how everything appears Jesus Christ is the true king. “[These verses] describe not what Christ is going to do but what he is: conquering King, righteous Judge, Captain of the armies of heaven.^[1]

Look at the way Jesus is described in those verses:

• Faithful and True,
• A Judge and Warrior, leader of the armies of heaven
• His eyes are like a flame of fire – he is able to see into the hearts of all
• On his head are many diadems – he is the absolute ruler of all
• He has a name written that no one knows but himself – he is under the control of no one
• He is called is The Word of God and by his word he conquerors
• The agent of the wrath of God the Almighty
• King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus is the One to whom all people owe allegiance, the one before whom every knee will bow, the One who has the final word.

Our World

For us in the western world the danger is almost nonexistence. Instead of lions we have the ACLU, instead of burning incense we are asked to go with the flow – and many do!

The fact that Jesus is Lord calls forth two very important traits in those of us who claim to be his followers.

Faithfulness

If Jesus really is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, what other response could possibly be appropriate?

For faithfulness to be real it must be unconditional. When we chose to follow Christ we didn’t know what that choice would involve. We made the choice because in light of what we knew about Jesus there was no alternative. No one else can forgive sin; no one else can give new life; no one else can save. What life circumstances could possibly change that truth?

The truth that Jesus is Lord is the same in good times and bad, in prosperity and poverty, in sickness and health, in peace and in peril, when prayer is answered the way I want or not. And our only response is faithfulness – what else is there? Here was Paul’s experience:

[2 Co 4:8-11 ESV ] We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

And yet he remained faithful!

The circumstances we face in this world, whether personally or with our families and friends, don’t change the fact that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We remain faithful because there is no other option.

Does God do miracles, healings? Yes, they are wonderful gifts of his grace. But if God never did another thing for us, if all he did was forgive us and grant us new life here and in heaven…it would be enough for us to be faithful for all eternity!

What does faithfulness mean?

It means we maintain the relationship through prayer, we continue to obey, to worship, to learn and grow and gather with God’s people.

Since the fact of who Jesus is doesn’t change with the circumstances, neither does my faithfulness. Do the circumstances hurt, make me sad, cause me to doubt? Yes. But our doubt is expressed in relationship not out of it.

Many people only come to Jesus because of the personal benefits they will receive from him. If Jesus does not fulfill all of their expectations, they get upset and stop honoring God. If that is the case, who is really Lord?

Hope

If Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords that means my circumstance doesn’t have the last word – Jesus does!! And because of that I have hope!

Paul kept preaching and traveling because of this hope. In spite of all that happened to him. Listen to what he says:

[Ro 8:35-39 ESV ] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can continue to pray, obey, worship, toil, grow, witness and even die because no matter what, Jesus has the last word! Do you believe that? That is what hope is all about!

An Invasion

When we understand that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that truth has a profound effect on our everyday lives. In reality it is not something that will happen in the future, it is something that is a fact now and because of that it affects our lives now.

That fact invades the present and affects the way I treat others, my decisions, my entertainment choices, the way I do my job, the way I dress, my dating life, if I am single, my married life, the way I view the government, the way I spend my money, the way I see the world and even the way I see my current circumstances.

The declaration, “Jesus is Lord,” is not about emotion, but the alignment of my life with the truth of who Jesus is. It is not about adopting a new philosophy of life, or merely reframing the world or my circumstances in the world. It is about a commitment to the One who not only will rule the nations with a rod of iron, but who allowed iron nails to pierce his hands and feet to show you how much he loves you. Isn’t it time you acknowledged Jesus is Lord? If not now when?

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^[1]Michael Wilcock, The Message of Revelation : I Saw Heaven Opened, Reprint. Originally published: I saw heaven opened. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1975., The Bible speaks today, 183 (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1986], c1975).

Jesus: Savior

Text: Luke 19:1-10

The story of Zacchaeus is a very familiar one. We mostly think of it as a story and a song for children, but it is so much more!

A story of Salvation, one scholar classified it as a miracle story because Zacchaeus was a very wealthy man and according to Jesus the wealthy, are difficult to save.

The Story

The Romans contracted out the collection of certain tolls and tariffs. Those who won the contract had to pay the contract in advance. They would often employ others to collect the tax and inflate the tax for their commission. Zacchaeus was one of these contractors.

Because they were Jews collects taxes for a foreign power, they were despised throughout all the land. In the eyes of devout Jews they were the epitome of a person outside of God’s blessing — tax collectors and sinners.

Meeting Jesus

Something about Jesus’ message and ministry intrigued Zacchaeus. When he heard Jesus was coming his way, he wanted to see him. Since he was a short man he could not see Jesus, so he decided to run on ahead and climb a tree. This probably made the people burst out with laughter. An adult man would never run, and never ever climb a tree. I can imagine the people shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at this blanket blank tax collector.

Jesus surprised them all by calling out to Zacchaeus by name and telling him “I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus was overjoyed but all the other people grumbled because Jesus was going to the home of a tax collector. At one point during the dinner Zacchaeus made some bold statements.

• I give half my goods to the poor – you were considered righteous if you gave 20%
• If I have defrauded anyone I will restore it fourfold – the maximum penalty only required to pay double.

Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” How did he know? Jesus knew because of Zacchaeus’ reactions:

• He began to value others – the poor
• He confessed, repented and made restitution – as the law said he should

Why do we need a Savior?

Because, as the Bible puts it, we are lost. To be lost is to be spiritually separated from God. We are out of relationship with God. When that primary relationship is wrong it affects every other relationship in our life: spouse, kids, work, self, strangers, creation.

The Bible puts it like this:

[Is 53:6 ESV ] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

[Mt 9:36 ESV ] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve rejected the relationship God offered them, because they didn’t trust God. God had given them everything thing they could ever want and yet they wanted to be their own boss. They got their wish along with all the consequences of their rebellion: estrangement from God, shame, guilt, blaming others, suffering and hardship.

We have continued that pattern. We want a nice life, happiness and fulfillment, but we reject the source of that fulfillment- God himself.

When we are lost, out of relationship with God, we cannot please God. We cannot keep the two most important commandments.

[Mk 12:30-31 ESV ] And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We can’t love God because we are rebellious, disobedient, self-centered, prideful, ignorant of what God actually wants, materialistic, we have no eternal perspective.

We can’t love our neighbor because we devalue people or label them so they become less than people and we can treat them any way we want. We judge people, exploit and oppress – we use them as things to meet our needs -, ignore them and their situations, push them to the fringes of society and only value people for their abilities or what can do for us.

We are messed up! We are lost! We need a savior! And we cannot fix ourselves!

How does Jesus save us?

Through the cross of Jesus Christ Jesus paid the penalty for our rebellion and disobedience. God created us, gave us life, sustains us and provides for us in every way. When we reject God’s direction for our lives we stand accountable. God is just and righteous so, wrongs must be punished or atoned for.

Jesus paid the penalty for our rebellion. He removed the barrier between us and God and opened the way for us to be reconciled to God.

Jesus rescues us from the consequences of our rebellion. We are rescued from guilt, shame and hell itself.

Jesus saves us by helping us see others as he does (Yes salvation includes this). He helps us see their value, appreciate and care for tem and even love them.

Jesus saves us by giving us a new way to walk and a new power to living for God. through God’s grace and power we can walk as a follower of Jesus Christ, love God with all of our heart mind soul and strength, love our neighbor as ourselves and make the right choices.

Zacchaeus and us

Zacchaeus was an outcast; someone who others believed was outside the grace of God.

On that fateful day, Jesus went to his house and his life and destiny was completely changed. Jesus showed him that although others considered him an outcast, Jesus would make a way for him to be reconciled to his God. His heart was so changed that he repented and made restitution, in that very moment.

But, what about you? For all of those who have not committed their lives to Jesus Christ, you are an outcast. Not because of someone’s opinion of you, but because of your own rebellion and disobedience. Because you refuse to honor God and love your neighbor, you are lost, separated from God – even though you may sit in church week after week.

But there is good news. Jesus wants to go home with you today. Through his cross Jesus paid the penalty for all of your rebellion and opened the way for you to reconciled back to God. That reconciliation changes everything. It changes: the way you see God, the way you see others, the way you see yourself.

Jesus is Savior and he wants to save you today.