apostle John
Our Faithful Witness
By Linda Rex
April 27, 2025, 2nd Sunday in Easter—During this particular cycle of the Revised Common Lectionary, the New Testament passages are drawn from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the apostle John. There has been so much published about this particular book of the Bible, we may have a lot of preconceived ideas about what it is about and what is in it. One thing we can be sure of is that John tells us that in it, he is testifying to God’s word and to Jesus Christ.
John begins his book, which is filled with imagery and visions and pictures and numbers, with a focus on the One the book is written about—our Lord Jesus Christ—and his Father, and the Spirit. In our passage for this Sunday, Revelation 1:4–8, he shows the purpose of Jesus’ sacrificial self-offering: our freedom from sin and the building up of his kingdom of priests who serve his heavenly Father.
John draws upon the imagery of the Old Testament to help his readers grasp the magnitude of what Jesus Christ has done. In Exodus 19:6, God told his covenant people, the ancient nation of Israel they would be this very thing, which Jesus fulfilled and expanded to include believers of all nations: “… and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” There is great hope in realizing that what God promised his people—what he determined they were created and meant to be—he accomplished, in his own self-offering in Jesus Christ.
Throughout this book of Revelation, John helps his readers—people who were experiencing great persecution and tribulation—to see that Jesus Christ is the slain Lamb of God who has rescued all of us from sin and death, and who does and will reign triumphantly over all. John reminds those who are threatened, harassed, and battered by the evil, sin, wickedness, and death in their culture and in their lives, that Jesus is Lord of all, and in the end, our triune God wins.
The final pictures of this book show God coming to dwell with humans in the new heaven and earth—this was always God’s plan. The God who did this and is doing this and will do this is the I Am of the Old Testament, the triune God who created all things, who made ancient Israel his covenant nation, who came in the person of Jesus Christ the Son of God to fulfill all his promises, and who came in the person of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost following Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In the meantime, we find much hope and peace in knowing who this triune God is. As we open ourselves up to God and receive his grace and peace, we are able to grow in our relationship with him. We come to see who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for us. Jesus is the perfect expression of who God is, was, and will be in his love for each and every human being. Indeed, in Jesus, we see that there is no part of our human existence that Jesus was not willing to enter into and participate in. He was tempted in every way, yet he did not sin. He bore our sorrows, carried our griefs, and embraced our weakness. God, in Christ, has met us at our lowest point, even the depths of suffering and death, to bring us up in the resurrection into eternal life in face-to-face union and communion with our heavenly Father in the Spirit.
What was brought to my mind this week about this passage was that in the ancient nation of Israel, the priesthood was named to be held by those who were of the tribe of Levi. These Levites were not given an inheritance in the land or nation. Their inheritance was the Lord and the care of his tabernacle or temple. Can you see how this carries forward into this passage which the apostle John wrote?
Jesus has created a called-out people whose only inheritance is himself. We are brought together by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, the Church, to be a kingdom of priests who serve our heavenly Father. We serve a representative role on behalf of the entire world, as a united body of people who are meant to reflect and serve the triune God, and to point others to him by our love for one another, and for the world.
Jesus is the High Priest, and intercedes in the heavenlies with his Father in the Spirit. He is the Faithful Witness to our triune God. We participate in what he is doing in our intercessions for one another in the Spirit through prayer. We participate in Jesus’ own priestly mission in this world, as we share the good news of all he has done, is doing, and will do, with those around us in both our words and our actions.
Because Jesus reigns in glory and is faithfully interceding on our behalf, standing in our place, we can have great hope and look forward with much anticipation to see all God is going to do for us, no matter how difficult, painful, or dangerous our circumstances or situations may get. So, we continue to bear faithful witness as our participation in Christ, the Faithful Witness of our Father in the Spirit.
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us such great hope in your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you, Jesus, for embracing us in your self-offering as the Lamb of God. Thank you for giving us your Spirit, and being present in us and with us through every difficulty and struggle. Grant us the grace to faithfully bear witness to you in each moment by being a true reflection of your glory, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ‘Behold, He is coming with the clouds’, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ ” Revelation 1:4–8 NASB
“… Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:(19–29) 30–31 NASB
“When they had brought them, they stood them before the Council. The high priest questioned them, saying, ‘We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:27–32
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