Enthroned Sacrifice // Rev Matt Kennedy // Sept 22 2024

What do hilarious jokes, heart pounding thrillers, and amazing magic tricks all have in common? Misdirection! The comic, storyteller, or illusionist coaxes you for a moment to think one way so that the surprise of the punchline or the jumpscare has that much more impact when it finally lands.In the heart of the book of Revelation is one of the Bible's great misdirections: the prophet John wonders who it is that will conquer evil and he hears a voice tell him, "See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed" (5:5). One would expect to see a fierce animal or a great warrior at this description, but when John turns to look at this lion or this conquering king, he sees neither. Instead he says, "I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain" (5:6). The gospel of Jesus is always a great paradox: suffering leads to joy, crucifixion leads to resurrection, death brings life, and defeat brings victory. This is the mysterious heartbeat of the Christian faith, yet it remains against the grain of all our nature and instinct. Most humans run from suffering, we fight for self-preservation, we fear death and perhaps the only thing we fear more than death is humiliation. God's solution to all the powers of sin, death, and evil was a radical act of self-sacrifice, humiliation, and meekness. The book of Revelation simply echoes what scripture has said 100 times over: God is the hero of our stories, not us. Our salvation does not rest in our ability to achieve, to exert, to accomplish, or triumph. It is by God's gracious work of condescension, sacrifice, humility, gentleness, and long-suffering by which we are saved. The great task of our life is simply to accept this gift and believe it is true.