Pastor’s Corner: “All that and a Bag of Chips”
Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega–the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come–the Almighty One.”
We have been discussing on Sundays the question that Jesus asked His disciples in Matthew 15:16: “Who do you say that I am?” The apostle Paul made it very clear the value of knowing who Jesus is in Philippians 3:8 (NLT): 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. These are strong words – “everything is garbage compared to knowing Christ!” It would be difficult to make it any clearer than this. Paul certainly thought that finding out who Jesus is was worth investigating….. how about you?
A good place to investigate who Jesus is starts in the Bible with the very words Jesus used to describe Himself. Who does Jesus Say He is? In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes eight statements beginning with the words I AM. We can learn to know Jesus more deeply through these “I AM” statements. “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) – “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5) – “I am the door” (John 10:7 and 9, ESV) – “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14) – “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) – “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6) – “I am the true vine” (John 15:1, 5) – “I tell you the truth,” Jesus says, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58). The verbs Jesus uses are in stark contrast with each other: Abraham was, but I am. There is no doubt that the Jews understood Jesus’ claim to be the eternal God incarnate, because they took up stones to kill Him (verse 59).
All these statements link Jesus to the Old Testament revelation of God. The clear message Jesus was communicating is that He is God Himself, THE GREAT I AM! This concept is still surprising and shocking today and many continue to have a hard time believing it is true. My favorite I AM statements come in Revelation. Three times the words “Alpha and the Omega” are repeated. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Jewish rabbis commonly used the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet to signify the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Jesus as the beginning and end of all things is a reference to no one but the true God. This statement of eternity could apply only to God. I believe as Christians, often our view of Jesus is too small.
Jesus as the Alpha and Omega, is the first and last in so many ways. He is the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), signifying that He begins it and carries it through to completion. He is the totality, the sum and substance of the Scriptures, both of the Law and of the Gospel (John 1:1,14). He is the fulfilling end of the Law (Matthew 5:17), and He is the beginning subject matter of the gospel of grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). He is found in the first verse of Genesis and in the last verse of Revelation. He is the first and last, the all in all of salvation, from the justification before God to the final sanctification of His people.
Although Jesus as God is beyond our comprehension in so many ways, we can see both the greatness and love of God for us through His birth, life, death and resurrection (Emmanuel: God with us!) Jesus was a living expression and picture of God Himself and His name. The Father loved us enough to come Himself into the world for our salvation by His son Jesus, and He demonstrated His love by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. What an awesome God we have—the great I Am! How big is the Jesus you know?
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton