Revelation 7:9-17 Sermon

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) 

Easter Revelations: He Is the Shepherd and Lamb 

Revelation 7:9-17

9 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 before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
 and to the Lamb.” 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen!
 Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!” 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “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. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God
 and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
 will shelter them with his presence.16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
 never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
 nor any scorching heat. 17 For 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.’” (NIV)

The Scriptures don’t lack for pictures and illustrations.  God’s desire in using such images is that his truthful teachings are not only made known to us, but also understood and firmly believed by us.  While many of the parables, pictures, or stories depict objects or scenarios that may not be as familiar to us in today’s culture, virtually all of them are simple enough to understand with very little explanation.  For example, one doesn’t need to know the legal ins and outs of how an inheritance was divided among sons to cherish the story of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15) and what it means for us.  You don’t need to be a licensed contractor to appreciate the difference between Jesus’ encouragement to build a foundation on solid rock and not on unstable sand (Mt. 7).

We do, however, recognize that when some sort of connection exists between and illustration and the person hearing it, the point being made through the illustration is at times more meaningful.  The agricultural parables, for example, are no doubt very appreciated by the individual who plants his own garden or spends a lot of time cultivating plants and trees.  Jesus’ command to go out and fish for men may hit home a little more to the avid angler who has spent long hours patiently struggling to catch anything and then finally reeled in the big one.  So it makes sense that the more familiar a person is with a particular image in Scripture, the more meaningful it probably is.

Yet there is still one image in the Bible which, even though very few, if any of us, have any personal experience whatsoever with it, stands out among most others as a cherished picture of calmness, comfort, and peace.  It is the picture of our loving God as a compassionate shepherd, and we as his sheep.  So treasured is this image of our Savior, in fact, that the church has designated the fourth Sunday of Easter to serve as what is often called Good Shepherd Sunday.  Although some of us may have never even heard the bleating of a sheep or been anywhere near an entire flock, nonetheless the picture of a shepherd tending his sheep is one of the most beloved in all of Scripture.

It is also a very frequent one.  In the Old Testament we hear of David not only by title of King over God’s people, but also their shepherd.  Certainly on some level everyone here is familiar with the most famous psalm, Psalm 23, which relies on the imagery of shepherd and sheep to ease troubled hearts and paint pictures of serenity and peace.  Jesus refers to himself as the Shepherd and his followers his sheep, as he did in the Gospel this morning.  And also this morning, as we see yet another Easter Revelation, it is revealed to us that the One enthroned in heaven will always serve as our shepherd.  This morning we see in John’s revelation that our Shepherd is unique, for we see today that He Is the Shepherd and the Lamb.

Actually, if one wants to get technical about which title receives more attention, there’s no arguing that Jesus is easily referred to as the Lamb many times more than he is the shepherd in the book of Revelation.  In fact, this section of Revelation is the only one in the entire book where we come across the designation of shepherd for our Savior.  He is called “Lamb,” however, over thirty times in the book of Revelation.

It’s no surprise why. Remember how John described it? “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 before the Lamb. 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’” (v.9,10).  Notice the variety of souls standing before the Lamb.  They literally came from the ends of the earth.  Different nationalities.  Different physical features and appearances.  Different skin colors.  Different languages.  And yes, I’m sure different denominations outside of the Lutheran church.  A veritable melting pot of people stands before the throne, rejoicing because they knew their only ticket there, their only ticket to salvation came through the Lamb.

That much becomes clear later on in John’s revelation.  The Lamb is the only explanation for the multitudes surrounding his throne.  He is the reason for their rejoicing.  When asked who they were and how they got there, the response was a no-brainer, “Sir, you know,” and he said, “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” (v.14).  Rest assured, multitudes of souls are and will always be in the presence of God’s throne of grace in heaven, and they will all have been granted access in the only way possible, through the Lamb and the blood he shed for them.  This is the same blood John wrote about in his first letter: “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).  Yes souls from all over the world will be represented in heaven, but they will all have the same thing in common; they all will be there because of the Lamb’s blood.

So will we.  Loved ones who have already gone before us stand before the throne right now, because of the blood of the Lamb.  When our time of grace here on earth is over, we too will stand before the throne, because of the blood of the Lamb.  It’s ironic, isn’t it, that something that causes stains that are extremely difficult, if not impossible to get out, should serve to whiten and brighten our robes, purifying them completely to be worn in heaven?  It’s ironic, isn’t it, that something we’re more inclined to associate with death is the one substance that truly offers life?  It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the blood that should have been shed by the guilty offenders – you and me – was instead shed by the innocent Lamb, Jesus?

Without the bloodshed of the Lamb, our hope of eternal life would be in vain.  It would be misleading even to think our chances of gaining access into heaven would be a long shot, because the reality would be that we’d have no shot, apart from the Lamb.  To think otherwise is either to 1) downplay the harsh reality of my sins, or 2) make light of God’s expectation of perfection.  Either one will have the serious consequence resulting in the individual being shut out from heaven and eternally on the outside looking in.  Our sin is real, it is inexcusable, and for it we will be held accountable.  So just like the multitudes surrounding the throne, we need the blood of the Lamb to wash us and provide entrance into heaven. And the Resurrection proves that the sacrifice of the Lamb was sufficient.  Easter means access to heaven is ours, because the Lamb who died is the Lamb who was raised and lives and rules on his throne eternally.

Have you ever wondered how we’ll be spending our time in heaven?  John tells us.  We will serve the Lamb.  But even that word serving will have lost any negative perceptions associated with it while here on earth.  When our Easter Revelation depicts the saints “serv[ing] him day and night in his temple” (v.15), such service to God will not be like the nagging “to-do” lists we have here on earth; serving him in heaven will not be some laborious chore that is a necessary evil.  Rather, that part of each of us that genuinely longs to serve God faithfully, that new creation in each of us, will finally be satisfied in heaven.  The bull-headed service we often provide here will be replaced with the service of a holy heart in heaven.  With Christ at work in our hearts here on earth, the child of God in each of us longs to serve him better than we can right now.  We long to love others better, to serve more willingly, to serve more frequently, to forgive more easily, to give more generously, to pray more earnestly, to worship and praise more faithfully.  And in heaven, before the Lamb, and because of the Lamb, we will do all of those things.

Our eternity will be entirely devoted to serving him perfectly, for the concerns of this world will not distract us.  John wrote, “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat” (v.16).  Lacking nothing, we will cherish the reality of an eternity that allows our completely sanctified hearts to gratefully serve forever.

And John’s revelation all comes full circle now.  How do we know we’ll lack nothing?  Because “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” (v.17).  The Lamb is none other than the Good Shepherd who will forever give us the living water of salvation to drink.  He will provide us with peace and protection from every harm and evil, which will be no more.  And where there is no wickedness, where sin is no more, neither will there be tears or sadness.  All will be well.  All will be perfect in the peaceful pastures of heaven, where we will forever be guided by our loving Savior, who is both our Shepherd and our Lamb.  Amen.

                                                              

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)