Do You Want to Meet Him?

Several years ago, my wife and I, in addition to my in-laws, went to visit New York City.  We were walking along the street where the ferries were located to go to Ellis Island.  Hillary Clinton had fundraiser event there that had created an excessively long line of very elegantly dressed people to get on the ferry.  My brother-in-law noticed Phil Donohue, a celebrity talk show host, in that line.  He rushed over to Mr. Donohue and took a picture.  My brother-in-law was ecstatic about getting a picture of the famous celebrity although, looking at Mr. Donohue’s facial expressions, he wasn’t too thrilled about it. 

What if, instead of rushing to meet a person who could care less who you are, you met a person who wants to know you personally?  Well, really, how about meeting God?  Actually, He is the Son of God, but He goes by other names: Son of Man, Immanuel, Jesus. There is no better person to introduce us to Jesus than His disciple named John who was very close to Him during His earthly ministry.

God sent John, deemed the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 20:2), a vision—a revelation of Jesus Christ recorded in the last book of the Bible, Revelation.  In his vision, John experiences how the resurrected Jesus appears now.  From the radiance of His Body, shining brighter than ten suns, to the boom of His voice that cuts to very core of your soul, yet, despite the overwhelming majesty exploding from His being, Jesus tells John, “Fear not” (Revelation 1:17).  Jesus emits care and comfort through His words even though He has all the power of the universe at His disposal.  Revelation records the exact words written by John of what he experienced in his vision:

Revelation 1:12-17

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵ his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”

Jesus is complicated, meaning He is not one dimensional.  Let me show you what I mean: 

Revelation 5:5-6

⁵ And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

⁶ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Revelation 5:5 refers to Jesus as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” alluding to Jesus’ rightful claim to all authority and dominion over all heaven and earth, yet, when John looks upon Jesus, he sees a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.  The Lamb represents the perfect sacrifice needed to atone for the sins of the world.  The sacrifice required by God the Father to allow us the privilege of adoption to be sons and daughters of God if we accept His offer of salvation.  Jesus represents both the Lion and the Lamb.

When you see Jesus face to face, as a disciple of Jesus, fear not, for He will comfort you.  If you haven’t accepted God’s offer of salvation, then be prepared to face the Lion of Judah because you have rejected the sacrifice of the Lamb.

Let me ask you, “Do you want to meet Him?”  He’s not far. He stands at your door and knocks.