Bible Passage: Revelation 19:11-16
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: May 29, 2022

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

As we look around the world, there is not a lot to make the God-fearing, Bible-believing, Christ-confessing person feel overly optimistic.  As we look out we are gutted to see a war going on in Ukraine.  An unprovoked ware.  A war of aggression.  A war in which civilians are being killed.  A war which has created as many as 10 millions refugees.

We see a massacre of children and their teachers inside a school building in Texas.  A modern day “slaughter of the innocents.”  Again, even with our Christian understanding of human nature and human depravity, this is stunning to us.

We see in our own culture people who are now rallying proudly and loudly behind what is called “a woman’s right to choose.”  We know better.  We know that is just a slogan, a euphemism, some thin paper wrapping over an ugly, unholy reality.  They want to murder the unborn.  Not long ago, legislators in New York cheered when they passed a bill making late-term abortions legal.  We watch, horrified, “What is wrong with us?”

We see groups – highly organized, skillfully mobilized – using the levers of local school boards to introduce into school material that teaches little children that certain abhorrent and unnatural behavior is completely normal and acceptable.

We look out and we see in this world nations ruled by leaders who have made evangelism and Christian witnessing a capital offense, punishable by death.  And we could go on and on.  And back of it all is the devil, raging because his time is short.

 If this was a movie, we might say at this point, “Now would be a good time for the hero to arrive.  Now would be a good time for the knight in shining armor to ride up on the white horse!”  Dear friends, today I do not give you a knight in shining armor.  I give you something better.  I give you the ascended Jesus!  I give you the one of whom we confess in the Apostles’ Creed:  “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.”  Except today we see him and we say:  He Ascended into heaven and is Seated…on the White Horse!

There IS something heroic about this vision of Jesus in Revelation!  He is seated on a magnificent snorting white horse!  He no longer rides a borrowed juvenile donkey on his way to die.  This is a war horse, fit for a hero.  The troops in formation behind him will send a chill down your spine.  As far as the eye can see, riders on white horses; all the holy angels of heaven fall in behind the Commander of the armies of heaven, ready to ride, ready to serve, ready to fight.  And the one on the horse is “the real deal.”  He is no pretender to this greatness.  He is called Faithful and True. 

We cannot help notice what is on his head.  John sees many crowns.  The Greek has two words for crowns.  One word refers to the crown an athlete would receive for winning an event.  The other word for crown is “diadem.”  A diadem was worn by the Persian rulers.  The wearer of the diadem claimed to be divine, a god.  Look at the head of Jesus!  One diadem is not enough!  “Crown him with many crowns!”  We can gather all the kings and politicians with all of their symbols of pomp and majesty, and then have Jesus stand among them.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords!

And the King of kings and Lord of lords is not corrupt or part of the so-called “swamp.”   In our text his eyes are flames of fire.  It makes us think of the words of Psalm 10 (v. 14):  You do see.  And Psalm 11 (v. 4):  The LORD is in his holy temple.  The LORD is on his throne in heaven.  His eyes observe.  We may think sometimes that evil rulers and corrupt politicians are getting away with it.  They are not.  The Rider on the white horse sees EVERYTHING.

That ought to terrify godless kings and politicians.  For the Rider on the white horse judges and makes war in righteousness (v. 11)  We speak sometimes of “just war.”  That is, war that is justified and right and good.  Jesus’ war and final judgment on his enemies is the ultimate “just war.”  The weapon the rider uses is a sword.  It is coming out of his mouth in our text.  It is the Word of God that finally judges and defeats and damns the enemies of Christ.  The Rider gave us a little glimpse of the power of his word on Maundy Thursday night in the Garden.  The mob stood in front of Jesus armed with swords and clubs.  Godless authority on display!  Jesus asked them who they were looking for.  They answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jesus says two words.  The name of the LORD.  “I AM.”  The armed goons fall over backwards at the utterance of his name!  The judgment of Jesus’ enemies is compared to stomping the grapes in a winepress.  “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.”  Let there be no mistake; Jesus’ enemies are the grapes.

There is one more detail about this rider we must see.  He is not a “knight in shining armor.”  No.  He wears a robe.  And the hem of this robe is smeared and stained with blood, as if Jesus has walked across a bloody battlefield.  Friends, that’s exactly what Jesus has done!  On Good Friday, Golgotha was a battlefield!  When the day was done, it looked like Jesus had been defeated.  But on Easter morning, the fog of war was lifted.  Jesus rose!  The Victor!  He strides across the battlefield where sin, death, the grave lie defeated.  The hem of his garment is stained with the blood of the already defeated enemies – the enemies he defeated for you and me!

This is the rider on the white horse.  This is the ascended Jesus!  Living and ruling!  In Psalm 2 the rulers of this world are called upon to kiss the Son, lest he be angry. (Psalm 2).  You don’t want to be on the wrong side of the Rider on the white horse!  And by God’s grace, we are not.  Psalm 2 ends with some very comforting words.  Picture in your minds the Rider on the horse John has described today, with all his might and majesty!  Now, hear the closing words of Psalm 2:  Blessed are all who take refuge in him.  Such blessedness is ours!

Amen.