“Alpha and Omega”

Revelation 1:4-8

Pastor Tom Johnson, 11/25/12

There is a lot of unique language used to describe Jesus in our Scripture this morning. We have heard those words read, we have sung them, and we have listened. This is Christ the King Sunday. We herald Jesus as the risen and reigning Savior of the world. We call him “King of the Jews,” “the Ancient One,” “the Lord who dwells on high,” “the Messiah,” “Faithful Witness,” and “Ruler of the kings of the earth.”

But then there is this very odd language. It is as strange, and sometimes ungrammatical, in English as it is in the original biblical languages. For a moment, hear and ponder these titles and descriptions of Jesus: He is called, “the firstborn of the dead.” In the first chapter of Colossians, St. Paul calls Jesus, “the firstborn of creation.” From God’s point of view—which is outside our time and space continuum—Jesus is the firstborn of creation and of the dead. He is our “forerunner,” the writer of Hebrews says. He is the One who was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago—but whose birth changed the course of history—not only of the time following his birth but also preceding his birth. He has “freed us from our sins by his blood.” All the blood sacrifices of animals that the Hebrew people offered pointed to the true source of forgiveness—the blood of Jesus that releases us from the guilt and power of sin. He has “made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father.” From Abraham and Sarah’s call to become the father and mother of a new kingdom millennia ago—to Christians today from every tribe, nation, language, and ethnicity—we are called to be God’s people, citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. “To [Jesus],” our Scripture says, “be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” From Scripture’s point of view, Jesus has been on his throne and reigned from eternity’s past and will into eternity’s future.

But the day is coming when he will reveal his power and reign to the whole world. He is “coming with the clouds” in glory. And here is when it gets a little strange—he will come as the one who has been pierced—still showing his scars from the nails in his hands and feet and spear in his side. This suggests that Jesus comes as the one who has already conquered death and the grave. The marks on his hands and side cry out his authority and victory over evil, sin, and even death itself. He is truly the “Firstborn of the dead” the one whose death and resurrection has given eternal life to generations of people.

And finally, he is the “Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” This perhaps the most profound title of them all. He is the Alpha and Omega—the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. As our Psalm from this morning beautiful says, “Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting” (Ps 93:3). As another Psalm says, “From everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Ps 90:2) He is the beginning and end of all things. He is at the center of the timeline of human history.

Maybe instead of seeing time as one continuous line as we experience it, we should look at time as a great circle that begins and ends with Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things. Jesus is also at the center of this circle. He is like the hub of the great wheel of human history. And we see the spokes of his activity as points along this timeline. He is the One “who is and who was and who is to come.” As the Alpha and Omega, he is able to intervene and bless us at any time in the past, present, and future. Ironically, he has no beginning and no end. But from our point of view, that is who he is.

Some might say that we speak too much and too highly of Jesus. But, the reality is that we cannot speak highly of him enough. Human language struggles to convey the grandeur and of who Jesus is. It surpasses human comprehension. Time, history, and Christ the King at the center is a like a colossal funnel drawing all things to himself. On that last day—which is the first day of a New Creation—Jesus will renew all things.

And as we approach that day, he draws us together and unites us to prepare us for what is, was, and will always be true—that he is King of heaven and earth. We are citizens and ambassadors of his Kingdom.  We look forward to more and more people coming underneath this glorious and gentle rule of Jesus. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Christ our King!”