Beholding Christ as He Is: Part 3 - Revelation 1: 12-18

1:41Well, so far in this passage, we've been looking at the elements of this vision. First, we've looked at where Jesus was. In verse 13, he is standing among the lampstands, and that describes the sphere of Jesus' primary interest. He is interested in churches. Second, we've looked at to whom Jesus was equated. Verse 13. He is equated to the Son of Man, the Son of Man, which communicates his supremacy over all of humanity. This is the one who endures, who rules, who receives kingdom that will never perish, but will outlast all others. We've also looked at what Jesus was wearing in verse 13. He is wearing a robe, a robe to the feet.

2:49This depicts a, he's certainly dressed as a king, he is certainly dressed as a priest, he is also dressed as the judge of all. And this, his dress describes his role to humanity. He serves God and he serves humanity by carrying out his kingly responsibilities, by carrying out his priestly responsibilities, and by carrying out his judging responsibilities. Today, verses 14 through 16, we'll begin describing what Jesus looked like. Verses 14 through 16, Jesus, or John describes what Jesus looks like and those elements that jumped out at John, and he describes Jesus' personal appearance.

3:52So, his where he was describes his interest. To whom Jesus is equated as Son of Man describes his supremacy. What Jesus was wearing describes his role to humanity. And what Jesus looked like describes his own character and his own ability, his own attributes. This is characteristically who Jesus is. And so we'll pick up where we left off by looking at how John described the features. Of Jesus' glorified presence. Look back, verse 14, I'll just reread verse 14 because that's what we'll begin looking at. His head and his hair were white like wool, like snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. So that's what we'll begin looking at today: his features, specifically his head and his hair. Now, look back.

5:01Literal translation would sound something like this. Now, his head and his hairs were white, gleaming, white, like white wool, like snow, like snow. Now, wool can be very dirty, but once it's cleaned, and that's what he's describing here, white wool, that has been thoroughly cleansed, it can be white, exceedingly white, like no launderer can make white, white, but like snow, snow, bright white, gleaming, white. Be a fair translation, a snow. Growing up in northern New Mexico in the mountains, near. A ski heeled, we had times of snow. And I can remember those nights where we had these big snowstorms, snow through the night.

6:14And then the next morning you wake, it's clear, like a blue northern has pushed through. Clear, sun shining bright, and the whole place just covered with fresh fallen snow. How many of you have seen that scene? Yeah, you've seen that scene. In Texas, you don't see it as much, although we did last year, right? But wow, there's something so beautiful. I think that's where the word walking in a winter wonderland comes from, right? You go outside, you see this. It is beautiful.

6:48It is one of the most beautiful scenes in all of creation. Fresh fallen snow across the landscape, no matter how muddy, how dirty. I mean, all of a sudden, it's clean and it's glistening. You know, when the sun hits the snow, it just glistens, it gleams, it's bright, it's beautiful, it's pure. And that's how he's, his hair, his head, and hair describes by this glistening, beautiful white snow. For those of you who know me, I love to have sun in my eyes. I love it. I don't know why. I just, it feels good. I love sitting by a window at a restaurant where the sun can. This is one reason why we always have these shades up. I love natural light. It feels good.

7:54And I hardly ever wear sunglasses. The only time I ever really put sunglasses on is when I'd go skiing in the bright snow, bright sun on the bright snow, it could sunburn your eyes. Sunburn my eyes. That's one of the few times when too much sun can hurt the eyes. Well, we have a similar scene here, a beautiful scene. As John begins to describe the glorified Lord, his head and his hair were white, like white wool, like snow, like gleaming snow.

8:39What does this description signify? Well, there are many suggestions. Maybe the whiteness speaks of age, dignity, his calmness, perhaps his deity, his holiness, his omnipotence, his sovereignty, his majesty. Maybe it's his... Truth, love, is longevity. I think certainly many of these are implied in the image. However, one cannot help but think of Daniel chapter 7 and verse 9. Chapter Daniel 7, you can turn there. I'll be reading from there, beginning in verse 7, just to give you a scene, but you can just listen as well.

9:30Daniel chapter 7, we have the image of, well, before I go there, we have a situation of a superpower, the world superpower being judged. It's this context of Daniel 7 is judgment. Verse 7, Daniel is looking in the visions. He's seen all these different beasts, these kingdoms to come. And then he says, After this, I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying, and extremely strong. And it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet. And it was different from all the other beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns. And while I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, Came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it. And behold, this horn possessed eyes, like the eyes of a man, and a mouth uttering great boasts. So the context of Daniel 7 is judgment upon this earthly kingdom, this superpower that is described by a ten-horned beast with one little horn that has come up, and he's making all these loud boasts.

11:00And then what comes next is the description of the ancient of days who's going to judge the beast and give the kingdom to the saints of the highest one. Listen to this description. In verse 9, I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the ancient of days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before him.

11:51The court sat, and the books were opened. Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful. Words which the horn was speaking, I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed and given to the bird burning fire. Now go back to Revelation 1:14. Let me reread those words. And his head and his hair were white like wool, like snow. Now look right back at verse 13. And notice in the middle of the lampstands, John sees one like a son of man, like the son of man. So in the previous verse, in verse 13, Jesus is compared to the son of man of Daniel's vision. And now here in verse 14, he's being compared to the ancient of days in Daniel's vision. And what's going on? Is Jesus the ancient of days? No.

13:01There is clearly a distinction between the two. There is clearly a distinction between the Father and the Son, and yet there is similarity, isn't there? You know, when I was studying genetics in college, they had all excited about DNA, right? Learning about DNA. They said there were two kinds of DNA. The good DNA and the junk DNA. Well, I have to apologize to my children, especially my boys. Somebody says they look like me. So, whatever good DNA they got, they got from their mom. Whatever junk DNA they got from me.

13:54But there is a striking similarity. When husband and wife come together, the two become one, and that oneness shows up in a child. You can't separate it. It's both there, right? Like father-like son. Well, we should expect that Jesus would look like his father, right? Like father-like son. The son shares some of the same attributes as the father. Though he is not the ancient of days, yet he looks like the ancient of days. We shouldn't be surprised.

14:38In fact, what we've been doing during this Christmas season and as we are celebrating the incarnation, as we are standing before and looking at the glorified Christ, we're going back and looking at Christ in his humility during his first Advent. But even in his humility, Jesus looked like his father. Didn't he? In fact, in John 14:7, Jesus said this, If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him and have seen him.

15:20From now on, now that I have come and walked among you, you have seen the heavenly Father. That's what Jesus is telling his disciples. And Philip says to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? It's though Jesus, in his humbled humanity, veiled God Himself veiled that unapproachable radiance and showed us God's personality. We got a window right into what God is really like on a very intimate, personal level, veiled in flesh that God had seen.

16:27So this vesture. That this picture of head and hair signifies that Jesus has shared attributes with his Father. He looks like him. But which ones? Well, certainly his holiness and his longevity. Certainly his holiness. We can sub-categorize that into his innocence and his purity. White, like fresh fallen, unadulterated, pure, clean, glistening snow. Holy, pure, innocent, but also the ancient of days. Longevity, his pre-existence is in view. And his post-existence is in view. He is. He was. He is. He is to come.

17:38And all other earthly authorities come to an end. His does not. There's a picture of an enduring one, the judge of all things that's never going to, that always has been, is right now, and always will be. And this is very comforting. When you're in and under the reign of a Domitian who is pressuring the church to do what it feels convicted against, pressured to worship the emperors, worship to do that which the church is called not to do. And these churches of Asia Minor, they were feeling the pressure to stop doing what the church is called to do and acquiesce to its society, to its culture, and the pressures of its day. And this picture, ah, but here is the ancient of days.

18:47No matter how powerful a force, an individual, a group may be, a nation, a government, or any hostile force that you could ever think about, no matter how powerful they may be and are for a moment, they are just that for a moment. So his holiness and his longevity are in view, but also his authority to judge. In Daniel 7, it's about the ancient of days taking his seat in judgment. The context of Daniel is judgment upon a worldly system. The context of Revelation is, again, judgment upon the worldly system.

19:42And Jesus told us that he is the final judge of everything. So we would expect him to look like the judge of everything. Remember John 5:22? Jesus said this: For not even the Father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent me. So Jesus is like his Father.

20:21Whether it's in His eternal preexistence, whether it's in His holiness, whether it's in His longevity, whether it's in His role as judge, Jesus is just like His Father. So the first feature that caught John's eye when he turned and he saw the lampstands and he saw Jesus wearing a robe. He begins to describe his appearance. The first thing that he mentions is his head and his hair. Second feature. John notices is his eyes, his eyes. Back at verse 14, and his eyes were like a flame of fire.

21:14Literal translation, and the eyes of him, the eyes of him as flame of fire. Oh, the eyes of him. It's like John is saying, Let me tell you now about his eyes. Remember in Daniel 7, the flames of fire, as God takes his judgment seat, the flames of fire are associated with God's judgment. Fire. Well, let's talk for a moment about Jesus' eyes and his humility during his first advent. We celebrate newborn baby, child, this time of year. And Mary was, no doubt, the first to look into his eyes, right?

22:19Mothers, as only a mother, can have that intimate connection with the baby, with their child. It was Mary who was the first to look into his eyes, and his eyes. What did she see? Well, she sees, first of all, what every mother sees, a deep-seated innocence. The difference with Jesus is that this deep-seated innocence was never lost. And not just an innocence about being naive. She saw in his eyes a purity and a purity that was never corrupted.

23:06Interestingly enough, Peter, through really through Mark, the eyewitness account that Mark holds of Peter, says a lot about Jesus' eyes. He seems to be very interested in those intense looks of Jesus. You read about them quite a lot in the book of Mark, and maybe that's because Peter felt the look. Peter felt the look. You remember Luke 22? Jesus had, or Peter had said, Look, if everyone else denies you, everyone else forsakes you, I'm not. I will not.

24:00My love is greater than all of these. Certainly, you can count on me. I will never defect. And I believe Peter really believed that about himself. No way could this ever be me. Jesus could see through Peter. He knew what was in him. And Luke 22, verse 61, you remember as Jesus is being moved through the courtyard, bloodied and beaten, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And that's that phrase. That searching, their eyes met. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had told him, Behold, before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.

24:53And in that moment, Jesus was looking at Peter and through Peter. He saw the limit of human efforts and human commitment. He knew. He knew where Peter was lacking long before Peter did. But you remember Mark chapter 3. In fact, I'm going to read to you, just take you through a couple of these, just so you could focus. In Jesus during his first advent, I'll just start in Mark 3, and I'll run through several of these because Mark seems to capture these intense looks of Jesus.

25:48You remember in chapter 3, he enters into a synagogue. Let me just read it to you. Verse 1. Jesus entered into a synagogue, and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching him to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so they might accuse him. Now, there's an interesting situation, right? They know he can heal. And they also know that nobody else can do this. And so here they are. They want to accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, get up and come forward. And he said to them, to these Pharisees who wanted to catch him, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill it? But they kept silent. Keep in mind, they're seeking to do harm. They're seeking to harm him. They're wanting to destroy Jesus. Here is Jesus with the power and the capacity and the willingness to help this person who has been crippled in some regard all his life.

26:58And there is the Lord. Look, verse 5, after looking around at them, you can see in that synagogue just this intense look. He looked at them with anger, at the same time, grieved at the hardness of their heart. And he said to the man, stretch out your hand, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out immediately and began conspiring with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. Interesting, right? Very interesting. He saw right through the Pharisees. He saw what was going on in their hearts. And he called them to account for it. He brought that to the surface.

27:53It's like he's saying, what's wrong with you guys? How can you be that hard? The power and the authority is right here to heal this man, and you don't give a rip about this man. You want to catch me and destroy me. And you want to talk to me about what is right? Is it lawful to do good or evil? You tell me. He brings all that to the surface, but he saw right through them. In fact, even just a few verses later, If you look at Mark 3, 21, verse 20, he came home and the crowd gathered to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When his own people heard of this, and this was speaking of his own family, including his mother and brothers, they went out to take custody of him, for they were saying he has lost his senses. Jesus is now out of his mind, so his mother and his brothers go down to apprehend him. And then they come in verse 31. Then his mother and brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. And Jesus was sitting, a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you. Answering them, he said, Who are my mother and my brothers? And then he says in verse 34, looking about.

29:24He said, Let me tell you who my mother and my brothers are and my sisters. Whoever does the will of God, this is my mother, brother, sister. You can go on to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. You remember this rich young ruler. Verse 17. As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what shall I do to Inherit eternal life. And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother. And he said, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth.

30:20And then those words, looking at him, with those penetrating vision, looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said, One thing you lack, go and sell all you possess, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me. But at these words, he was saddened and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. Jesus saw right through this guy, even in his incarnation, in his humility. Jesus knew what was really on this man's heart. Mark 11, you can turn over there, and this gets really graphic.

31:09Remember in verse 11, Jesus entered the temple. So he comes in, the triumphal entry. He comes in, and he comes in. It's late in the day, and he goes into the temple. In verse 11, and after looking around at everything, he left for Bethany. He goes into the temple. And he looks around at everything, intently looking. And then he goes. The next day, verse 12, when they left Bethany, he became hungry, seeing at a distance a fig tree. So there he is, he sees, he looks, and he sees a fig tree. He went up to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. So there he is, this searching. He sees a tree, hungry, goes up, looks intently at this fig tree. It's not the season of figs, but there should have been some little pods, should have been something edible that he could have snapped off and eaten. And it had no evidence of ever bearing fruit. And then he says, This, may no one ever eat fruit from you again.

32:30Judgment on the tree. And then they came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling. And he overturned the tables of the money changers and seats of those who were selling doves, and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. But you see, he knew what the future of that tree was going to do. He knew the future. Of this generation. He knew the limit. He knew that they were not going to bear fruit. The temple worship that they had instituted was done.

33:14But the point I'm making, he saw through, even in his humiliation, Jesus displays this penetrating intelligence, this probing insight that's able to see right through a person. And he's innocent in the process. There's an innocence about him. This should not be right. This is not right. And his standard, he told his disciples what his standard is in Matthew 5:48. He said, Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. That's what those eyes are looking for: faith that develops into perfection like his father.

34:08And where there is no evidence of any fruit-bearing capacity, may no one ever eat from you again. That's Jesus. A holy resolve to set things right. That's in his humiliation. Now, back to Revelation chapter 1, verse 14. Here is John describing him in his glory. He is among the lampstands, he is among the churches, and he can see through the character of each church with a penetrating intelligence. He knows the condition of the whole. He knows the condition of the parts. He is here today with that penetrating vision, and he sees. He sees us.

34:58He sees us as we really are. You know, one of the most horrifying experiences I ever had was going to a dental office and having my teeth x-rayed. I mean, from here, it looks all right, right? You see a little bit. But when you put that x-ray on there and you do that panoramic x-ray, I don't know if you guys have ever done that, but they can do the whole panoramic of your, and then they lay this thing out, your teeth up there on the screen, and wow, it's quite frightening.

35:39I mean, it may have been the first time I saw compelling evidence that maybe we did evolve from sea monsters. No, that's a joke. I don't believe that at all. But if you looked at my teeth, you might think that there's some kind. Of connection to something out there that's really off. But the point I'm trying to make is that Jesus can see right through us. Right? He sees. You can't see the crookedness in my teeth without that x-ray. But boy, he can see the crookedness in our hearts.

36:28He sees. He sees, even now, he can see those prideful thoughts. He can see those pretensions, even if we can't. Oh, he's very much aware of the adulterous eyes, the adulterous hearts, the covetous hearts. He sees all of that, even at this very moment. And that is why when we come into his presence, we are to confess him. We are to come to him as king, seeking his pardon, based upon his sacrifice and the sufficiency of his advocacy. That's how we're to come before him.

37:14The baby doesn't stay a baby. And if we're going to come and worship him, we're going to have to come and bow and come before him as one who we cannot hide from. At all. His eyesight hasn't diminished. In fact, look at Revelation 2:18. As he's writing to the church at Thyatira, he says, The Son of God, and to the angel of the church at Thyatira, write, The Son of God who has eyes like a flame, eyes like a flame, and his feet are like burnished bronze. And he says, I know your deeds, and your love, and your faith. And then he goes on and he says, Look, you need to repent. I have this against you. You tolerate the woman Jezebel. I gave her time to repent. And then he goes on to say in verse 23, and I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give each one of you according to your deeds. I am the one. All the churches are going to know what I do. I search the minds and the hearts. And he searches. You've got to understand this. He searches not so to find fault.

38:51Boy, if he wanted to find fault, he didn't have to look very hard. No, he searches. He's looking for faith. He's looking for a genuineness. He's looking for a soul honesty before him, an honesty that cries out to him. And if there is no faith and no hope of faith, guess what? May no one ever eat from you again. Persistent unrepentance is a frightful condition. Don't hold on to anything. He sees now and even now be turning your heart to him in repentance. Say, Lord, I know you know my deeds, and I know they are not clean, and I bring them before you, begging your mercy and asking for your grace. Even now, as you hear these words, incline your heart to him.

39:53But even in Revelation 19, verse 11, you remember when he comes in his glory, verse 11 says, This, I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. As he comes to judge, John again sees him coming in glory. And it says, eyes of fire. We're eating John 1. We're seeing the judge who's going to come on the horse.

40:39But his standard is the same as it was when he walked among us. Be perfect. That's what I'm looking for. That's where we're going. Be repenting. Be turning away from all which is unclean, unpure, unperfect. And you become holy, as 1 Peter 1:14 says, Be holy, like the one who called you is holy. But know that, as Hebrews 4:13 says, there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

41:22This is probably one of the most frightful aspects of Christ. There is no hiding in his presence, there is no hiding. He sees. He sees. And his standard, so to be holy is not just a good idea, it's a divine passion that the Spirit of God moves us toward. We're all going to see Him. This baby grew up. And has been glorified by God Almighty. We're all going to see him. And we will have to look upon that face.

42:12We'll have to look into those eyes. That face whose smile at once will usher us into everlasting joy and whose frown will banish us to everlasting shame. And there is no hiding. We've all looked into his eyes. He's the judge. Are you ready to meet him? Are you ready to get your soul honest before him? This is what coming and bowing down to him is about. Do you belong to him? Well, you do if you come honestly before him.

43:01You see, in the first time, the first time we come to him, guess what? We come to him with sins all over us. That's how we come the first time. And it is his desire that you come in that manner, agreeing with him about what is right and what is wrong, and asking for his forgiveness and receiving the cleansing, receiving the new. That comes from being in relationship and resurrection with Him. If such be our first encounter with Him, if we meet such welcome with Him on our first encounter, how much more should we repeatedly come to Him day in, day out, fought in, fought out?

43:55Jesus is among His churches, highest one, judge of all humanity. He's just like His Father, He has a penetrating sight and intelligence. He knows us. And friends, that's good news. Because He knows us and He loves us and He wants us to come. So, the vision of our John sets before us of the glorified Jesus gives us insight into the office of Christ. Christ has a kingly role, He rules, He reigns. We need someone to rule and reign over us. The Christ has a priestly function, He mediates on our behalf. We need an advocate. We need someone to keep the union between us and the Father. Because if it was just up on us, we're With defect. But his advocating ministry and his, he is both advocate and he is both sacrifice and his mediating role is sufficient.

45:14It keeps us. So the Christ has a kingly role. He has a priestly role. He also has a judging role. He separates us from all that harms the soul. He separates us and he grows us in his likeness, in his loving way. So as we close, how do we respond? How do we respond? We need his spirit, don't we? And he's quick to give. What does bowing before him look like? Well, first of all, it's coming before him, recognizing who he is and asking for help.

46:10Lord, help us. We need help to be honest with ourselves and with our sin. He sees through us that there's things that we don't even see. There's things we do see. And we need to be honest with ourselves and with God about our sin. We need to humble ourselves. Before God and ask things that please Him. Ask for that which pleases Him. We're to ask Him to help us to gaze upon, to think upon that which is clean and pure, and to be quick to turn away in our minds.

46:50As quick as a notion of the unclean comes before us, Lord, help us to gaze upon and to think upon that which is clean and that which is pure. We're not going to do it without you. Help! That's coming before Him. That's the kind of help we need, and that's the kind of help He grants. Help us to pursue the noble and the good. Help us more and more to come under Your rule, Your reign. That's how we respond to the Christ of Christmas. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you do.

47:36We do ask for your help. Help us to be honest with our own sin, honest before you. Forgive us where we have held on, tried to hide and justified sin. Help us, Father, to humble ourselves and truly give you first priority, give your ways privilege. Help us to. Inform our prayers. Help us to ask for that which pleases you most. Help us to think upon and gaze upon that which is pure and noble and holy, like you like to think upon. Help us to pursue that which is noble, that which is good. Father, give us your Holy Spirit. Father, we thank you because we know that's exactly what you desire to do. That's what the whole narrative, the Christmas narrative and resurrection narrative, all Lord has given that we may be born again, born by your Spirit, controlled by your spirit.

48:49So we thank you. We thank you as we worship you this morning. Thank you for all these things in Christ's name. Amen.