Easter 4 Revelation 7:9-17
April 21, 2013
Her parents asked me to visit her. In a prominent place on the living room wall was a plaque with the words of Psalm 23 beautifully printed on it. It began, “The LORD is my shepherd.” Their daughter had walked past it hundreds of times. She could say the words from memory. Now in the midst of teenage rebellion and confusion and hurts and fears, I wonder what it meant for her to say, “The LORD is my shepherd?”
The bills are spread out on the kitchen table. No matter how often you look at them or add them up, the amount you owe is more than your checkbook balance. What does it mean for you to say, “The LORD is my shepherd”?
You’re standing under the tent with your family before the casket of someone you have loved for so long you don’t know what life is without them. Today begins a radical change of everything familiar to you, and it has already begun with tears. What does it mean for you to say, “The LORD is my shepherd””
All of the Scripture lessons today remind us that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. It is a position in our lives that he has earned at a deep price. Elsewhere in the Bible Jesus is also called “the Lamb of God”, who took away the sins of the world by shedding his holy, precious blood for us. Now here in the Book of Revelation, chapter 7, the Holy Spirit puts those titles together to show us that THE LAMB WILL BE OUR SHEPHERD FOREVER.
As part of his glorious vision of heaven John saw an open door to heaven. "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this," Jesus said. At once John was given an "out of the body" view of paradise. He saw the Almighty God seated on a majestic throne holding a scroll in his right hand filled with writing on both sides. The writing was about "what must take place after this", i.e., prophecies of the future. But the scroll was sealed with seven seals so no one could open it or even peek inside. The future is a closed book to mankind, just as the Psalmist said: "My times are in your hands".
Someone asked, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” and there was silence. John broke down in tears because no one had authority to crack the seals. Suddenly Jesus appeared looking like a Lamb who had been killed. He took the scroll from His Father's hand, and all of heaven burst forth in praise: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and with your blood you purchasedmen for God." Then Jesus opened each seal one by one to give an overview of history until the end of the world. There were terrible earthly conflicts and heart-breaking distresses, ending with the sound of terrified unbelievers running for cover and crying to the mountains, "Fall on us and hide us!... For the great day of [God's] wrath has come, and who can stand?"
John's heart must have been sinking when he saw this frightening scenario. It looked like no one would survive the storms of Satan’s attacks. But then John saw what he describes for us here in Revelation 7:"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb (that is, Jesus). They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." These weren't dark sounds of gloom and terror but sounds of joy and triumph!
John stood there speechless, then someone asked him, "These in white robes- who are they, and where did they come from?" John didn’t even want to guess. The voice answered, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Of course! That's why Jesus had come to earth! God had sent his Son as a lamb to offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins of all people. The Holy Spirit had John write in his gospel, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” With his blood Jesus suffered our hell and paid our penalty for sin. Of course! That's why God had John write in one of his epistles, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins...the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin."
And now here they were before his very eyes, believers in Jesus who "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." There were the disciples who had been killed for their faith- his brother James, Matthew, Peter, Thomas, Philip. There were people of old who believed in the coming Savior: Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Ruth, King David. There were Christians whom you and I would know: a believing grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, husband, wife, child, friend, neighbor, and fellow church members all singing their song of joy and triumph, experiencing a life we cannot begin to imagine: "They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple....never again will they hunger, never again will they thirst... the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The paradise John saw is the future for all of God’s people. In heaven the Lamb will be our Shepherd, and we’ll be safe with him forever. That amazing promise has moved us to sing our own triumph songs on earth such as this verse: Mid toil and tribulation And tumult of her war She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore
Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
There is a popular teaching in many Christian churches and cults called the "Rapture". It is taught that a day is coming when Jesus will zap his people from the earth to spare them from a horrific series of events that are coming on the earth that they call “the Great Tribulation”. They claim that the multitude John saw was the raptured believers who “have come out of the great tribulation”. They then teach that after the Great Tribulation is over God will put those believers back on earth to live here with Jesus for 1,000 years of peace.
The only problem is that the Bible doesn’t teach this. The "Great Tribulation" John wrote about is going on now in a world that's groaning under the consequences of sin. Christians, too, experience the pains and temptations that are common to all people. That tribulation is announced in the headlines every newspaper and news broadcast and felt in our bodies, stings in our hearts, and wets our cheeks with tears. Jesus was honest with us, "In the world you will have trouble” Paul, after being stoned and left for dead, said, "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." But the Good Shepherd added this promise, “Do not be afraid; I have overcome the world."
A more accurate way to translate John’s words is: “they are coming out of”the great tribulation. One-by-one God delivers his people from this world of sorrows and brings them to himself in a heaven where sorrows are no more. This is why we confess with Paul: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" and shout, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Satan was there on the day you were baptized and has been aiming his arrows at you ever since. But the Holy Spirit was there, too, give you the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. You are not alone. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”Through baptism Jesus put on you his white robe of righteousness so you can take your place with the multitude in heaven. He keeps that robe on each of us as he leads us with His Word, as he calls us to admit and unload our sins on him each day, and as he comforts us with his forgiveness. He keeps that robe on us through his body and blood in the Lord's Supper. We overcome all tribulation, great and small, by the blood of the Lamb.
Since all this is true, why would you or I look to future with fear and reservations? Why would we spend even one minute wringing our hands in worry? Why would we ever wonder if God is in charge? Why would we question how much Jesus loves us? Why would we forget that the Lamb who is praised in heaven is our Shepherd throughout our life?
You and I are seeing what John saw. God’s people have already won. We are not defeated people who go through life with the wind knocked out of us. We are "a kingdom and priests to serve our God" who"declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light". The Lamb has earned the right to be our Shepherd. He is hereto calm our fears and wipe away our tears and send us out to dry the tears of others who mourn their sin and all its troubles. We can share the love and forgiveness of a Savior. For the Lamb who will be our Shepherd in heaven’s endless days will be our Shepherd today and for the rest of our lives. Amen