Day 28

Seeing Jesus John

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.” (Revelation 1:17)

In a Gallup poll conducted several years ago, Americans were asked who they thought Jesus was. Of those interviewed, 70 percent said that he was not just another man; 42 percent stated that he was God among men; and 27 percent believed he was only human but was divinely called. Throughout history, men have struggled with Jesus’ identity and what it means to them. The apostle John had no doubts. He had seen Jesus as a man and as the glorified Son of God who returned to his Father in heaven. The Roman government had exiled John to a Greek island called Patmos. While there, as John spent time alone worshipping the Lord, he heard and saw things that further shaped his thinking and his ministry. John heard a voice so loud it sounded like a trumpet blast. It told him to write down what he would see and send it to seven churches of Asia Minor; Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (see Revelation 1:10-11). When John turned to see the speaker, he was floored. John knew that he was seeing Jesus, the “Son of Man” (Revelation 1:13), but he didn’t look at all like the Jesus that John had spent three-plus years following. His face shone like the sun, and his head and hair were white as snow. He held seven stars in his hand, and from his mouth came a sharp two-edge sword. John had the privilege of hearing and seeing Jesus as the King who had taken his throne in heaven. John reacted with both dread and fear, but because John was his faithful servant, Jesus spoke words of comfort to him, saying, ”Don’t be afraid!”

Jesus has identified himself as your trustworthy friend and Savior; he is also the sovereign King of all creation. When you approach him as both, you can walk confidently in the work he has done on your behalf.

What is God saying to you right now? Jot down those thoughts and pray them back to Him.

This devotion was taken from: The One Year Men of the Bible; July 17; by James Stuart Bell