The Lamb in the Midst:
Easter, Worship, and the Revelation to St John
Isaiah writes, He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth (53:7). St Philip, preaching on this text, proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-35). St John the Baptizer, pointing to Jesus, proclaimed, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29)! The Old Testament sacrificial system, the Passover, the Day of Atonement all these, with their visual imagery and thematic analogies, point to Christ. We sing, “Christians to the Paschal Victim / Offer your thankful praises! / The Lamb the sheep has ransomed; / Christ, who only is sinless, / Reconciling sinners to the Father. / Death and life have contended / In that combat stupendous: / The Prince of life, who died, / Reigns immortal” (LSB 460:1).
Christ Jesus is our Passover Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. His blood makes our bodies and souls. Death passes over. He is our Scapegoat, upon whom our sins were laid, while we are declared righteous and free! He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph 1:4). And, When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, He entered once for all into the holy places by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb 9:11, 12, 24).
That which is pictured in words, St John beholds with his eyes in the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him (Rev 1:1). The Book of Revelation, also known by its Greek name, the Apocalypse, is filled with unusual images and symbolic visions, many of which can be very confusing. We are often led into horrible misinterpretation and wrong application when we loose focus of the center of this revealing vision granted St John. Jesus said, You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me (Jn 5:39). This is true, not only of the Old Testament, but also of Revelation.
The central and reoccurring image of Revelation is the Lamb standing, as though it had been slain (Rev 5:6). That is, Christ, crucified and risen, ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the center of all Scripture, including Revelation. He is the Door, the Gate of the sheep, and by His death and resurrection He has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers (Jn 10:9; Eph 2:18; Rev 4:1). Access to heaven through Jesus comes in the Divine Service, through His Word and Sacraments, as Revelation makes plain.
Consider that the Revelation to St John occurs on Sunday, during the Divine Service: I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10) and that he was commanded to write to seven churches: Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this (Rev 1:19). So, this revelation is not only concerning the future, but also the present, the things that are. Where are they? What are they? The things that are in the Divine Service!
Often we view heaven as “someplace far off” or “up there.” In the Revelation to St John, though, we are comforted with the truth that heaven is a present reality, with us now in the Divine Service, heaven on earth, where Jesus brings heaven down to us. By His death and resurrection Christ has opened the kingdom of heaven to us. Through this open door we have access to that which St John beholds. He writes, Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near (Rev 1:3). We share in the coming realities of heaven described in Revelation here and now in the present in Divine Service and Holy Communion!
Thus rather than being an escape from reality, as most Christians view church, the Divine Service is entrance into the deeper and truer reality of enacted by Christ, the Lamb who was slain yet lives. In the Revelation to St John it is as if the curtain has been pulled back and we behold the heavenly worship of God and the Lamb. In the Divine Service on earth we join our voices to the saints and angels in heaven and participate in the Christ-centered worship of the one, holy, Christian Church. One day the parallel Divine Service on earth and in heaven will be synced: For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rev 7:17).
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
+INJ+
Pastor Mierow
Tuesday of Holy Week
Art: “The Adoration of the Lamb” by Hubert van Eyck c.1432
P.S. The Adult Bible Study will begin a study of the Revelation to St John, Sunday April 21, at 845a. Join us!
Easter, Worship, and the Revelation to St John
Isaiah writes, He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth (53:7). St Philip, preaching on this text, proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-35). St John the Baptizer, pointing to Jesus, proclaimed, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29)! The Old Testament sacrificial system, the Passover, the Day of Atonement all these, with their visual imagery and thematic analogies, point to Christ. We sing, “Christians to the Paschal Victim / Offer your thankful praises! / The Lamb the sheep has ransomed; / Christ, who only is sinless, / Reconciling sinners to the Father. / Death and life have contended / In that combat stupendous: / The Prince of life, who died, / Reigns immortal” (LSB 460:1).
Christ Jesus is our Passover Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. His blood makes our bodies and souls. Death passes over. He is our Scapegoat, upon whom our sins were laid, while we are declared righteous and free! He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph 1:4). And, When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, He entered once for all into the holy places by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb 9:11, 12, 24).
That which is pictured in words, St John beholds with his eyes in the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him (Rev 1:1). The Book of Revelation, also known by its Greek name, the Apocalypse, is filled with unusual images and symbolic visions, many of which can be very confusing. We are often led into horrible misinterpretation and wrong application when we loose focus of the center of this revealing vision granted St John. Jesus said, You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me (Jn 5:39). This is true, not only of the Old Testament, but also of Revelation.
The central and reoccurring image of Revelation is the Lamb standing, as though it had been slain (Rev 5:6). That is, Christ, crucified and risen, ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. He is the center of all Scripture, including Revelation. He is the Door, the Gate of the sheep, and by His death and resurrection He has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers (Jn 10:9; Eph 2:18; Rev 4:1). Access to heaven through Jesus comes in the Divine Service, through His Word and Sacraments, as Revelation makes plain.
Consider that the Revelation to St John occurs on Sunday, during the Divine Service: I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10) and that he was commanded to write to seven churches: Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this (Rev 1:19). So, this revelation is not only concerning the future, but also the present, the things that are. Where are they? What are they? The things that are in the Divine Service!
Often we view heaven as “someplace far off” or “up there.” In the Revelation to St John, though, we are comforted with the truth that heaven is a present reality, with us now in the Divine Service, heaven on earth, where Jesus brings heaven down to us. By His death and resurrection Christ has opened the kingdom of heaven to us. Through this open door we have access to that which St John beholds. He writes, Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near (Rev 1:3). We share in the coming realities of heaven described in Revelation here and now in the present in Divine Service and Holy Communion!
Thus rather than being an escape from reality, as most Christians view church, the Divine Service is entrance into the deeper and truer reality of enacted by Christ, the Lamb who was slain yet lives. In the Revelation to St John it is as if the curtain has been pulled back and we behold the heavenly worship of God and the Lamb. In the Divine Service on earth we join our voices to the saints and angels in heaven and participate in the Christ-centered worship of the one, holy, Christian Church. One day the parallel Divine Service on earth and in heaven will be synced: For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rev 7:17).
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
+INJ+
Pastor Mierow
Tuesday of Holy Week
Art: “The Adoration of the Lamb” by Hubert van Eyck c.1432
P.S. The Adult Bible Study will begin a study of the Revelation to St John, Sunday April 21, at 845a. Join us!
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