Jonah Albrecht

All Saints Sunday

November 10th, 2024

Revelation 7:9-17

9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”        13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 5“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

Have you ever met someone, conversed with them, and thought to yourself, “I wish I could be like that person?” In high school, it was that amazing athlete, the kid who could ace anything without even trying, or the easy-going, jovial friend of everyone type. It wouldn’t be far off to say that same feeling has entered the world of adults as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to be the next hot-shot to go on Shark Tank? Or be like that one family that always seems to be perfect whenever they appear in public? There always seems to be a part of us that desires to be better, to change our status quo. In an of itself there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve our lives and stature, but it can easily be for the wrong reasons.

Do you think this mentality translates into the sphere of our spiritual lives? Certainly. It would be nice to be like Paul or Peter, great apostles who were able to see Jesus in the flesh and perform great miracles in His name. Ahh to be a saint, now wouldn’t that be something. Take the saints that appear in our text this morning. How amazing would it be to be adorned in white robes washed in the blood of the Lamb, to be in the house of God and have Him dwell with you. Now that is definitely something I think we all would love to be like.

Well, the truth is you already are. You, right now, are Numbered For Glory.

Maybe that statement seems a little too good to be true. I know that none of us have been martyred for our faith. Persecuted, sure, but probably not to the extent that our lives are in danger. That is what it means to be a saint doesn’t it? To be like the Apostles who paid the ultimate price for the sake of the Gospel?

Or to be like Polycarp, a student of John the Baptist. When he was 86 years old, he was rounded up by the Romans and thrown into the Coliseum. Despite being given many opportunities to renounce his faith and blaspheme God in order to spare his life, he replied saying, “Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that burns for a season, and after a little while is quenched; but you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked.” Finally, before being burned at the stake, Saint Polycarp said, “I bless you, Father, for judging me worthy of this hour, so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ.”

What faith! But that isn’t what made Polycarp a saint. Martyrdom wasn’t what made the Apostles saints or anyone else. In order to see what makes one a saint, let us take a look at the last person anyone would have thought of being a saint: Zaccheus. Zaccheus was known for two things, being short, and being a tax collector who may or may not have cheated his fellow countrymen when collecting taxes, pocketing the excess. He was one of the most hated men in Israel. When the Jews saw that Jesus invited Zaccheus down to eat with him, they were in utter disbelief. This man was a sinner! And the great Jesus wanted to have supper with him??

What is even more extraordinary than that is Zaccheus’ response to Jesus’ invitation. He said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And in response Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

See, Zaccheus knew what he did was wrong. More than that, he knew he was a wretched sinner who desperately needed his Savior to deliver him from his sin. Zaccheus was a saint not because he laid claim to that title based on his giving back all that he stole and more. He was a saint because he recognized how helpless he was without Jesus, and His Savior had called him to faith and repentance.

The question before you, then, is are you a saint? Do you lay claim to that title because you have earned it, because you can point to your good deeds and say, “I am worthy to be God’s saint, see all I have done!” If that is the case, then you have fallen completely short. People think that being a saint is about being good. “Oh, he’s such a saint.” Or “She’s got to be a saint for what she puts up with.” Is it your outward appearance that you are proud of?

Suppose you just learned that someone had been following you around each day for the last three months. They had planted hidden cameras in your house, bugged your telephone, and monitored your internet use. After 3 months, would they recommend you for sainthood? If you answer: Yes, they probably would, then you’re the furthest thing from being a saint. If you answer: No, obviously, I’m no saint! I’m a wretched sinner! – Then these words from Revelation are for you.

Do you remember the passage I read to you at the beginning of the service? Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” This passage is what makes the vision in our text this morning possible. Jesus was numbered with transgression, your transgression and mine, in order that you are numbered for glory. The perfect, sinless Son of God traded places with you. He received your crown of thorns and you receive His crown of glory. He died a guilty so that you will be raised, spiritually, a saint.

You are the one clothed in the white robes of your Savior’s righteousness because of what He has done for you on the cross. Even now, He intercedes for you and for the rest of your earthly life, God dwells with you even as you enter into His house with praises and thanksgiving. But wait a minute. Aren’t the ones John sees in Revelation the ones coming out of the great tribulation? How can that be me?

One word: Faith. Not just blind, throw a dart board and hope it hits faith; a confident faith rooted in Jesus who purchased your identity as a saint with His own blood. Your faith is not some obscure symbolism. It is concrete. Faith says: “Even though I am yet in this time of tribulation, Jesus has secured my future in heaven. Even though I feebly struggle and fall into sin, Jesus has secured my forgiveness before the throne of God. Even though I can’t even imagine what perfection is like: Jesus is coming to take me home.”

As often as we meet together in God’s Word, we enter into His throne-room and partake in the fellowship of all the saints who have walked before us and all the saints who are yet to come. Their song of praise is our song of praise. Their triumph is our triumph in Christ Jesus. It is one of the most precious aspects of our faith. So often we see our loved ones be crowned with eternal glory. They have received the full inheritance promised by God, A land of unclouded day where, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Though there is the pain and sadness of being separated from them physically, we can have the comfort knowing that we are never truly separated from them through faith. The Church militant and the Church triumphant are all one in Christ.

9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” That’s you. Saints numbered for glory. Amen.