SECOND SUNDAY OF END TIMES - November 3,6 & 7, 1999

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - Watertown, WI

WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB Revelation 7:9-17

The day had finally come, Mark was going to trial. He had been charged with lying, slander, hating and stealing. Mark had been having troubles at work. He didn't like his foreman and he wasn't getting along with some of his fellow workers. He had told some lies about his foreman and some of his fellow workers to the supervisor. When the supervisor investigated Mark's charges, he found that Mark had lied. Mark also had stirred up all kinds of trouble on the job. He had told one of his fellow workers that another worker had said that this worker was cheating on her husband. Of course, this had spread like wildfire through the whole plant. Mark also detested his foreman. He wished that his foreman was dead and he did everything possible to make his foreman's life miserable. Finally, Mark had decided that he would take some of the product that he was making along with some of the tools that the company provided for his use home.

Then one day everything came crashing down around Mark. People began comparing notes, they found out what Mark had been doing. Because some of the things he had done were crimes against the laws of the state, the police were called in. One Wednesday afternoon while Mark was working on the assembly line, detectives walked in and arrested Mark. They hauled him off to jail. A hearing was held and bail was set. Mark posted his bail and then hired a lawyer to defend him. What could Mark do? The charges were true. He had lied. He had slandered. He had stolen from the company. He really did hate his foreman. All the evidence pointed to the fact that Mark was guilty. On the day when Mark entered the courtroom to face the judge, he wasn't sure what to expect. The charges were read. Mark was asked how he pled. He responded, "Your honor, I'm guilty." And the judge said, "I declare that you are not guilty." Mark was stunned. How could the judge declare him innocent. Mark was confused. Just then Mark's lawyer explained. "I paid the fine for you. You're free to go. You don't have to suffer for what you've done."

What happened to Mark in the story that I just told is what has happened to us. The day of judgment is coming. One day everyone of us is going to have to stand before our Judge, the Lord God. We're guilty. We are just as guilty as Mark was. We deserve to hear that judge say to each of us, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41) But that's not what we are going to hear. Why not? Because our lawyer, Jesus Christ has paid our fine for us also and he has won our case and secured for us the verdict of "not guilty." As the Apostle John wrote, "If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2) This is the good news that the Apostle John reveals to us in his revelation. WE ARE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. I) We Entered This World With Filthy Robes but II) God Has Cleaned Us Up.

WE ENTERED THIS WORLD WITH FILTHY ROBES

Dirty clothes are unsightly. They often smell and make a person offensive to others. None of us likes to be next to someone who stinks. Well, when you and I entered this world we stank. We were filthy and dirty. As David once wrote, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) Our clothes were soiled with sin, the state of imperfection. That imperfection shows itself daily. It is evident in the words that cross our lips. We often are unkind and rude in how we speak to and about others. That imperfection is apparent in the thoughts that race through our minds. We see someone who has something and we become jealous. Why can't I have what that person has. Why should they have that and not me. That sinfulness is also visible in our actions. Something goes wrong and we take our hand and hit someone in a fit of anger or rage. Or we may strike the door, the dog, the wall or some other object. None of us are any better than John in the story that I told at the beginning of this sermon.

This truth is not something any of us likes to hear. No one of us likes to be told that what we are doing is wrong. We would all like to think that we are good people. We like to assume that the things that we do are good and upright. But the sad truth is that even the good things that we do in the eyes of other people are still stained with the dirt of our imperfections. As Isaiah once wrote, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6b)

With this truth before us, Judgment Day could be a very frightening and terrifying day to think about. But it doesn't have to be. The word of God before us reveals that God has washed us clean and made our clothes as white and sparkling as new fallen snow.

GOD HAS CLEANED US UP

The Apostle John in our reading describes for us the beauty and splendor of heaven and he tells us who is there. In this part of the revelation that John received from the Lord, he sees a great number of people. So many people that John can't even count them. He tells us that they come from every nation on the earth, every tribe, every language and people. They are standing before the throne of God and in front of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. They are all wearing white robes. And they are shouting out in a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb." (Revelation 7:10) What they are saying is significant. They credit their salvation to God and to Jesus Christ, not to themselves. They do not say that this deliverance into the presence of God is something that they have accomplished. They tell it like it is. This is something that God has accomplished for them. God has rescued them and cleaned them up and dressed them in beautiful white robes. These are all the saints, the believers from the Old Testament and those who died trusting in Christ up to the time of John. Today there are many, many more people there. All of the believers who have died during the past 1,900 years since the writing of the book of Revelation. Our loved ones who died trusting in Jesus are in that great multitude.

John saw more. He saw the great multitude of angels. He watched them as they fell on their faces before the throne of God and sang, "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:12) The hosts of heaven also agree that salvation is a gift of God, done and accomplished by our God for all people. For they are shouting, "amen!" which means, "that's right!", "that's true!".

Then one of the elders who was standing there said to John, "Who are all these people and where have they come from?" John replied, "I don't know. But you know." The elder than tells John who all these people dressed in white are and where they have come from. He says, "These are they who are coming out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) These are the people who have left this earth with all its sorrows, temptations and troubles. Their filthy robes of sin have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ.

One day, you and I will be among that great multitude of saints. For our robes have also been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. When you and I were baptized, we were clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes, "You are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." (Galatians 3:26-27) So as God views us now he sees us as his saints. It is the righteousness of Jesus that blots out our filthy, sinful robes.

The elder then goes on to describe for John and us what it is like to be in the presence of God after our judgment. "They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will the thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15-17) We will not be bored in paradise. We will serve God and our service will be a joy and pleasure. God will spread his tent over us. He will protect us from all evil. He will deliver us from sin and all its terrible consequences. Sin will never again be able to afflict us with its pain and sorrow. We won't get hungry or thirsty. We won't be too hot or too cold. We will live in a perfect world, well fed and in a perfect climate. And Jesus will be there. He will be our shepherd. Remember what Jesus once said of himself. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - - . . . I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:14 & 28) Our good shepherd also promises to lead us to springs of living water. This reminds us of the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. He said to her, "whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) The water Jesus is referring to is eternal life with him in paradise. The last words of the elder are so comforting and encouraging, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15) No more crying. No more tears shed because of physical pain. No tears shed because of emotional hurts and disappointments. No tears flowing because of the loss of a loved one through death or estrangement. No more sorrow. This is ours through Jesus Christ.

When Judgment Day will be, we don't know. But we do know the verdict for all who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. As Jesus tells us, "Whoever hears my Word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 4:24)

Thank God that he has washed our robes and made them white in the blood of Jesus Christ, the holy Lamb of God.

Amen