Who is in charge here? You might have asked somebody that question when you were not being served well in a store or restaurant. Who is in charge here? Who is in charge? Is ISIS in charge in Afghanistan now ? Who is in charge of the affairs of our world? Are the terrorists in charge?

The verses before us today indicate that there is somebody in charge. This somebody is called {5} the ruler of the kings of the earth. If we are honest, we have to admit that it often doesn't seem as if there is anybody in charge. This nation does exactly what it wants. That group of people go off and does its own things. Nobody seems connected. Nothing seems coordinated. Who is in charge here? Is there anybody in charge here?

In the first paragraph Jesus is described in three different ways. {5} The firstborn from the dead. We are used to having Jesus called the one risen from the dead. The resurrection was a huge event. Without it we would not be forgiven. We would not have eternal life. Firstborn reminds us of that. In the Old Testament the firstborn was given to the Lord, trusting that the Lord would provide more. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. More will follow him. We will follow Him. We will rise from the dead because He did.

Jesus is also described as {5} the faithful witness. John loves to call Jesus things like that. It was John who called Jesus the Word at the beginning of His Gospel. Jesus is the Word because He was a perfect communicator of the truth from God. He acknowledged that in the Gospel lesson for today when He told Pilate: "I am the King of Truth." Jesus is the Faithful Witness. He knows the truth about God because He is God. When He tells us what He knows as a firsthand witness, it is the truth. While He was on this earth, He said that He told us what the Father had given Him to tell us.

Jesus is also described as the ruler of the kings of the earth. We don't talk about Him much like that nor do we even think about Him much like that. But remember that is what He is now. He has finished being our Suffering Savior. He has finished being a lowly servant. He is now in charge of all things, and that includes all people and that includes Putin, Biden, and Xi.

John greets us with these words: {4} Grace and peace to you. In other words, "I want you to have grace and peace in your life." And then he tells us where that comes from. {4} From him who is and who was, and who is to come. The only one who could love sinners who don't deserve to be loved, and the only one who could declare peace with sinners who rebel against Him is the Lord who has always been that way and will always be that way. Circumstances and people don't change Him

Grace and peace also come from {4} the seven spirits. Because of an O T reference to seven aspects of the Holy Spirit, we take this to mean the Holy Spirit. God loves us. God wants us to have peace. God the Holy Spirit delivers God's love and the resultant peace into our lives. He does that by bringing those blessings into our lives through God's word and the sacrament.

Grace and peace also come {4} from Jesus Christ. He after all is the firstborn from the dead who exercised God's love toward us and accomplished peace for us by dying on the cross to wipe away our sins and then by rising from the dead victorious over all spiritual enemies. He after all is the faithful witness who has informed us of this grace and peace. And He after all is the ruler of the kings of the earth, who controls the affairs in this world so that grace and peace get dispensed to us. Jesus the Messiah is the Ruler of the Kings of the earth. What a blessing that is for us.

Because Jesus is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, John writes: {6} "to him be glory and power for ever and ever!" To him be power. It almost sounds as if we are saying, "Because Jesus is like this, He deserves to be given power." But we know He has almighty power already, since He is true God. So, John must just be saying, "May He never lose that power for ever and ever, the power which is rightfully His as the Son of God."

Because Jesus is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, John writes: "To him be glory for ever and ever!" Jesus deserves our praise forever and ever. We ought to give Him our praise forever and ever.

John then gives us additional reasons to praise Jesus. {5} He has freed us from our sins by his blood. Jesus took our sins on himself. That has freed us from our guilt. He suffered death which we deserved because of our sins because He was wearing our sins. That freed us from death as punishment for sins. He suffered separation from God which we deserve because of our sins. That freed us from the threat of hell as punishment for sins. He destroyed the devil's ability to control us by crushing Satan's head when he died on the cross. That frees us from the control of sin in our lives. Freedom - that's a reason to praise Jesus for ever and ever.

Another reason. {5} "He loves us." What is amazing about this is the object of his love. We are sinful human beings. We don't do what God asks us to do. We do what God asks us not to do. We plan to do the opposite of what God says is good for us. Obviously the Lord Jesus would not feel good about us since we are like that. But yet He loves us. He wants to benefit us. He wants to give us what we need. Even more, He did what was necessary so that we have what we need and are benefited in accordance with our deficiencies. God's love which we don't deserve. A reason for praising Jesus for ever and ever.

Another reason. {6} "He made us to be a kingdom." Since we live in a democracy, we might not relate to being a kingdom, so let's use citizens as our focal point. What is ours because we are citizens of our country? We get the protection of our army and our police force. We get provided for after we retire or if we are unable to provide for ourselves. We have access to educational opportunities. We could go on with the list. What blessings are ours because Jesus made us into a kingdom? The same things. God says He protects our relationship with Him and our earthly existence. He gives our souls the food and water of His word something we couldn't provide for ourselves and food and water for our physical existence as well. He educates us so we know how to live our lives in a way that is best for our souls and our bodies & best for the people around us. "He made us to be a kingdom." Just a reminder. Jesus made us to be a kingdom. Jesus is our King. Another reason to praise Jesus forever and ever.

The last reason John gives. {6} "He made us priests to serve his God and Father." Priests served God in the Old Testament by sacrificing animals to God as reminders of the sacrifice that would be given by the Messiah to pay for our sins and as thank offerings to the Lord. They also served as mediators, going back and forth between the Lord and His people, taking the sins of the people to God and bringing God's blessings back to the people. Jesus is our Mediator, so we don't serve as mediators for each other. Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay for our sins so we don't nor could we act as priests in that capacity. But we can offer ourselves as thank offerings to the Lord for all that He has done for us. All of our daily thoughts, words and actions we offer to God as our attempt to say "thank you" to Him. That is our purpose in life. That gives meaning to our existence. Another reason to praise Jesus forever and ever.

This Jesus who is the firstborn from the dead, the faithful witness, the ruler of the kings of the earth, who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve God, John says, {7} is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him. How do people respond to comments about Jesus' coming back again? To use a mild description - skeptically. "Christians have been saying for two thousand years that Jesus is coming back again. It hasn't happened yet. Nothing appears to be different from what it has been for the past two thousand years. There is absolutely no reason to think He will come back."

"Jesus is coming back." There is another group which reacts negatively to this kind of comment. {7} Those who pierced Him. They insist that Jesus is not coming back because they don't want him to come back. Those who pierced Him. We probably think first of those who actually put Jesus to death, or those who call out that He be crucified. But let's remember why Jesus was put on the cross. It was because of our sins. Humans beings - all of us - pierced Jesus. Human beings - sinners all of us - don't want Jesus to return to call us to account for our sins, unless we have been led to believe that our sins are gone and we are acceptable to God, covered with Jesus' righteousness. Non-believing human beings try to tell themselves that Jesus is not coming because they don't want Jesus to be coming. And when He does, all these unbelievers will mourn because of Him.

He is coming. Most people are skeptics. But that doesn't change the fact that He is coming. John says, {7} "so shall it be." We are just as confident. Why? Because Jesus said He was coming back. "I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come back to take you to be with me." That's Jesus talking. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, he...