Revelation 1:17, 18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:… Fear not, etc. 1. It is good to say words of good cheer. The cheerful word, the pleasant smile, the encouraging shake of the hand, - all these are good and helpful. As when with ringing cheers we send our troops off to battle. 2. But it is better still to be able, along with such words of good cheer, to show reason for them, and the solid ground you have for bidding your brother be of good cheer, and that he has for being so. If we can do this, how much more helpful our words are! Now, this is what our Saviour does here for St. John, and through him for all Christians always and everywhere. And if, as is possible, from the use of the expression, "the Lord's day," and St. John's naming it in close connection with our Lord's death, the day was not merely the first day of the week, but an Easter Sunday, and so especially "the Lord's day," then all the more may we well consider those reasons wherefore our Lord bade his apostle and all of us "Fear not." Now, our Lord declares in these verses four great facts, every one of which says, "Fear not" to him who believes it. I. His ETERNAL EXISTENCE. He says: 1. "I am the First - the First Begotten (cf. Psalm 40.; John the Baptist's, He was before me;" also our Lord's words, "Before Abraham was, I am;" and John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word"). 2. "The Last." (Cf. "He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet;" "Then cometh the end," 1 Corinthians 15.) 3. "The Living One;" equivalent to "I am he that liveth" - Jehovah. The claim is no less than this. Great, august, but intolerable if not true. But because true, it justifies our adoration and worship, and that to him every knee should bow. But it also says to us, "Fear not;" for it assures us that what he has been to his people he will be to them always (cf. homily on ver. 11). He had been everything to his disciples. "Lord, to whom shall we go?" said Peter in the name of them all: "thou hast the words of eternal life." Hence to lose him was to lose all. But this Divine title which he claims assured them that they should not lack any good thing. What he had been to them, he would be. And so to us. II. HIS PERFECT BROTHERHOOD He shares in all our sorrows, even the greatest of them. "I became dead;" this is a better rendering of ver. 18, than "I was dead." It does not say merely, "I died," or "I was dead;" that might be said of any saint in heaven, and will be said of all of us one day; but "I became dead" - it was his own voluntary act (cf. St. Paul: "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"). Now, our Lord's declaring this fact tells no doubt: 1. Of his sacrifice and atonement. That he was "the Lamb of God, which taketh away," etc. But I think the chief reason for its declaration here is to assert: 2. His perfect brotherhood and sympathy with us. That he was our very Brother-Man, who has been in all points tried as we are. Hence, however low any of us may have to go, he has been lower still. As Baxter sings - "Christ leads us through no darker room Than he went through before." It was as if he would say to all to whom this book should come, "I know, my brethren, you have to bear trouble, perhaps to endure cruel death, but I know all about it; I became dead, I have been through it all, I have sounded the lowest depths of sorrow; and go, my beloved ones, where you will, underneath you shall find my everlasting arms. So fear not." And on Easter Day the joy of it is that the Lord comes to us, not merely as triumphant, but as One who has suffered, and to us who are suffering. And the message of the day is - "As surely as I overcame, And triumphed once for you, So surely you who know my Name Shall through me triumph too." III. HIS VICTORY. "Behold, I am alive forevermore." Note that word "behold." It means that, in spite of all that death and hell could do, he is nevertheless alive forevermore. They sought to destroy him, but in vain. And the message of all this to those to whom it was sent was, "Fear not them which kill the body, but after that have no more that they can do." Your enemies can do you no real harm. And this is his word to us today. He points to himself, and says, "Behold" me; "I am alive forevermore." Therefore "Fear not.". IV. HIS LORDSHIP OVER THE UNSEEN. "I have the keys of death and of hell." The "key" means authority, power, possession; "death," him who had the power of death, or the state of death; "hell," the unseen world, the place of departed spirits; also the forces and strength of Satan (cf. "The gates of hell"). Now, Christ declares that he has authority over all this. Therefore, he having the keys: 1. The door of death and the grave can only be opened by him. Therefore their lives were unassailable, invulnerable, unless he gave permission. "Men of the world," their persecutors, were but his "hand." 2. He can enter there when he pleases. If, then, any of them should be put to death, he would not be debarred from them nor they from him (cf. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod," etc., Psalm 23.). Death and the unseen world are his absolute possession. 3. He can shut their gates when he pleases. Therefore death and hell have power only so long as he pleases. If he lets them loose for a season, he can restrain them again. And he will finally shut the door upon them forever. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death;" "He came to destroy the works of the devil." He shall shut the gates of hell, and when he shuts, no man openeth. Therefore "Fear not." Such is the message of Easter Day. - S.C. Parallel Verses KJV: And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: |
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