Sometimes it’s tough to think about “Jesus Today,” because we think so much about Jesus in the yesterday. We think about how Jesus was a suffering servant. How he was a crucified God/Man who put himself in the hands of men and allowed himself to be a sacrifice on our behalf. We talk about how he did rise from the dead. We spend oodles of time studying and preaching and teaching about the Jesus story we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And all of that is good. It’s vital to understanding and believing and encountering the grace of God.
But how often do we remember that today Jesus is. That today Jesus is living and exalted. That the Jesus of today is not a Jesus we will humiliate or crucify. The Jesus of today is the tatted out King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The Jesus of today is one who will lay his hands on us either with the hands of grace or the hands of wrath. He is alive. He is watching. He is moving. He is vital today.
The bible paints us a picture of a Jesus who today is ruling over everything in heaven and on earth.
It paints a picture of Jesus as a victorious king. No longer is he suffering on a cross. But he is the King who wins. One who will judge. One who will make war and come out on top.
It’s a very different Jesus from the long haired hippie Jesus of the past that people tend to picture. Instead it’s a picture of a warrior. A UFC champion.
In Revelation 19:11-16 (NIV) it says,
” I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.“
