The Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 24, 2016
Revelation 21:1-5
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (NIV1984)
Dear fellow worshipers of our Living Lord and Savior,
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Do you like getting new things? It’s kind of a silly question, isn’t it? No matter who we are we almost always like getting new things! Children like getting new toys and making new friends. Many people enjoy going shopping for new clothes or new shoes or new tools. Who doesn’t like the smell of a new car? Moving into a new house or re-modeling the old house so that it looks like new can be the highlight of our year. Part of the thrill of opening up a present is seeing what new thing someone has given to us.
As I was studying our sermon text for this morning, my friends, the word that kept resonating in my mind was the word “new.” Our text both begins and ends by focusing our attention on something “new.” For that reason let’s study this portion of holy Scripture under the theme: The Risen Christ Makes Everything New! There are three things we want to see this morning. First, let’s see that the risen Christ will make a “new” home for us. Then let’s see that the risen Christ will make us “new.” Finally, let’s see that the risen Christ will make our relationship with God “new.”
I did a little research on the Greek word that is translated here in our text as “new.” I found that this word is used in three different yet inter-connected ways. Obviously, the first way in which this word is used in Scripture in the sense of something that is “unused.” (See Matthew 9:17) This word is also used in Scripture in the sense of something that is “unknown, strange or remarkable,” with the connotation of being “marvelous.” (See Mark 1:27; John 13:34) Finally, this word is used in Scripture in the sense that what is old has become obsolete and needs to be replaced by what is “new.” In such situations the “new” is, as a rule, “superior” to the old. An example of this would be the “new covenant” that God has established with us in Christ (Hebrews 8:8, 13; Hebrews 9:15), the “new covenant” that we celebrate every time we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion. (See Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25) It is in this third sense, my friends, that the word “new” is used here in our text for today.
With that insight, I invite you to look at the opening verse of our text. John writes, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” The “first” heaven and the “first” earth that John refers to here are the heavens and the earth with which you and I are all too familiar. They are the heavens and the earth that God declared to be “very good” (i.e. “perfect”) on the sixth day of creation. (Genesis 1:31) They are the heavens and the earth that were “subjected to frustration” (Romans 8:20) when mankind first brought sin into God’s once perfect Creation. They are the heavens and the earth that because of mankind’s sin are now constantly “groaning as in the pains of child birth” (Romans 8:22). This heavens and this earth— together with everything in them— will most certainly “pass away,” my friends. (See Matthew 24:35; I Corinthians 7:31; I John 2:17) In fact, the apostle Peter tells us that the heavens and the earth as you and I know them now will “disappear with a roar” and be “destroyed by fire” on that great and awesome day when the risen Christ will return to this earth as the Judge of the living and the dead. (See II Peter 3:10) In their place, however, the risen Christ will give us, His children, a “new” heaven and a “new” earth— a heavens and an earth that are far far “superior” to the ones we see and know now! John even tells us that on the “new” earth there will no longer be any sea. What does this mean? In John’s day and age the sea was very often a source of danger and death. For better or for worse the sea often separated entire nations of people. Perhaps the fact that there will be no sea on the “new” earth emphasizes that there will be no danger or death or separation of any kind.
To me, my friends, when I look at the other parts of Scripture which describe the “new” heavens and the “new” earth that John saw here in his vision I am led to the conclusion that on Judgment Day the good Lord is going to use the fire at the end of the age to purify this world, to burn away the “dross of sin” and restore this earth back to the way it was on the seventh day of Creation— a perfect paradise! Picture the most beautiful location you have ever seen in your life, picture what you have always imagined the Garden of Eden to look like, picture what you might consider to be your own perfect little sanctuary here on this earth and multiply it a million times over! That’s the “new” earth, that’s the “new” home that the risen Christ will make for us and give to us!
The second point we want to see from this text is that just as the risen Christ will make a “new” home for us so also the risen Christ will make us “new”! Look at verse two, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”
Is John talking about an actual literal city here? Probably not— especially when you factor in that the “new” Jerusalem is also described as a “bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” The picture of the “bride” is used in other parts of the Bible to describe the Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints. (See Hosea 2:14-23; Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19:7-8) Why is the Church described as a “bride”? There are two things that I would like you to remember in connection with this picture.
First of all, the picture of the Church as a “bride” reminds us of the perfect agape love that Jesus— who is the Bridegroom— has for us. The perfect agape love that motivated Jesus to die on the cross for our sins is the perfect agape love that we will experience and enjoy for all of eternity! Secondly, the picture of the Church as a “bride beautifully dressed for her husband” assures us that the instant we leave this “old” world and this “old” life behind us and enter into eternity we will be “new,” we will be “holy,” we will be “perfect” in absolutely every single way! The robe of righteousness that we were given when we were brought to faith in Jesus as our Savior, the robe of righteousness that we all too often sully with our sins while we are here on this earth— in eternity this robe of righteousness will shine brightly for everyone to see! We will be like a “bride” dressed in her stunning white bridal gown!
Once the risen Christ has made us “new” then all the saints who are now with Jesus in heaven (I Thessalonians 4:14) plus all the saints who were caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air while He “purifies” this world with fire will come down to the “new” home that God has prepared for them. Here on this “new” home all the saved children of God will enjoy a “new” and “superior” relationship with the living Lord Himself. Look at how this “new” relationship is described in verses three and four of our text. John writes, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”
Even though we know that Jesus is always with us— especially when we need Him the most (See Matthew 28:20), even though we know that the God of heaven personally comes to us every time we read and study His holy Word and every time we receive His holy Supper (I have long taught that receiving the Lord’s true body and blood in Communion is the closest we get to God on this side of heaven), even though we know that as the forgiven children of God we have the freedom to approach God’s eternal throne of grace in prayer at any time and for any reason— even though we know all this, my friends, the “new” relationship that we will enjoy with the Triune God in eternity is going to be infinitely “superior” to the relationship that we already enjoy with Him right here right now!
This portion of our text automatically reminds me that when God first created the heavens and the earth He came down to the Garden of Eden and was literally “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). This portion of our text reminds me of the fact that whenever the Lord Jesus Christ visited the city of Bethany He stayed at the home of His dear dear friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. (See Luke 10:38-42; John 11:5; John 12:1-3) Imagine that kind of close personal relationship with God being perfectly restored! Imagine, my friends: You will live in the very presence of the Triune God Himself. You will live in perfect harmony with the Almighty Creator of the universe. You will live in perfect harmony with all your brothers and sisters in the faith. And as we heard in last Sunday’s sermon text (Revelation 7:9-17) and as John reminds us here in our text for today, anything and everything that could possibly hurt us or our relationship with God or our relationships with each other— it will all be gone forever! The risen Christ assures us, “…the old order of things has passed away.”
Do you like getting new things, my friends? That’s still a silly question, isn’t it! Whether it is a new toy or a new friend, whether it is new clothes or new tools, whether it is a new house or a new car we enjoy getting new things, don’t we! Unfortunately, every new thing that we get here on this earth eventually becomes old. Toys loose their luster and get set off to the side. Friendships fade. Car and homes breakdown and need repair. Praise God, my friends, that nothing like that will ever happen with the “new” things that the risen Christ will make for us! Whether it is the “new” home Jesus gives to us or the “new” us dressed in our stunning white robes of righteousness, whether it’s the “new” relationship that we will enjoy with the Triune God or the “new” relationship that we will enjoy with our fellow saints, we will always have the confidence which the risen Christ Himself gives to us in the closing verse of our text: “He who sits on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
To God be the glory!
Amen