6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” 8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
The Original Context
Isaiah spoke these words to Israel during a time of spiritual renewal, casting a vision of God’s heart for the nations. In contrast to the idea that Israel alone was God’s chosen people, Isaiah announced that foreigners who loved and followed the Lord were welcomed into His house.
This radical promise highlighted something about God’s covenant: His salvation was never meant for Israel alone because God was gathering worshipers from every tribe and tongue to find joy and belonging in His presence. His temple was never meant to be a barrier but a beacon.
Fulfillment in Jesus
When Jesus entered the temple in the final week of His life, He saw that its courts – meant for Gentile worshipers – had been turned into a marketplace. In righteous anger, He drove out the merchants and quoted Isaiah 56:7 in Matthew 21:13:
“My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.”
Jesus was restoring the temple to its true purpose. And ultimately, He became the new and better temple (John 2:19-21). In Him, all who trust and follow God, all who confess Him as Lord and believe in their hearts He is risen from the dead – regardless of background or nationality – are brought near (Romans 10:9-13, Ephesians 2:11-22).
Hope for Today
Jesus is still gathering outcasts. He is still welcoming foreigners. He is still saving sinners. And He is still building a house of prayer for all peoples.
If you’ve ever felt like an outsider – too far off, too broken, too different, too sinful, too shameful – know this: there is room for you in God’s house. The joy of His presence is not reserved for some select few who have it all together or who have the right genealogy, but offered to all who come to Him through Christ.
This Holy Week, let your prayers rise in confidence and hope. Jesus has not merely opened a way for people to come to Him, He IS the Way (John 14:6), and He prepares a place for Him in His Father’s house for all He saves (John 14:2-3). If He has saved you, you belong there; you are home with Him. And through Him, your worship is welcomed with joy.
1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
The Original Context
Malachi delivered this prophetic word to a people disillusioned and spiritually dull. They had returned from exile and rebuilt the temple, but they had fallen into apathy. Their worship was half-hearted, their priests were corrupt, and their hearts were far from God. Still, they longed for God to show up – to vindicate the righteous and judge the wicked. The trouble with that is that they were the wicked and not the righteous.
Malachi declared that the Lord would indeed come to His temple, but not the way they were expecting. His coming would not be comfortable – it would be refining. His messenger would prepare the way, and the Lord Himself would purify His people, beginning with the priests. Only then would their worship be pleasing to God.
Fulfillment in Jesus
John the Baptist fulfilled the role of the messenger who prepared the way (Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2-4). Then Jesus, the long-awaited Lord, came to His temple and found it much like the days of Malachi – the wicked playing righteous. And just as Malachi foretold, Jesus cleansed His temple – not only by driving out money changers (Matthew 21:12-13) but by calling Israel back to true worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23).
Jesus is the messenger of the covenant, both its fulfillment and its mediator (Hebrews 8:6). His mission was not only to forgive sinners but to purify worshipers. Like a refiner’s fire, Jesus came to cleanse hearts and renew righteousness. His blood purifies our conscience (Hebrews 9:14), and His Spirit sanctifies those He saves daily.
Hope for Today
We may long for God to show up and make things right, but are we ready for what that might require of us? Jesus comes not just to comfort, but to confront – not only to forgive, but to refine.
This Holy Week, ask the Spirit to search your heart. What needs to be purified? Where have you offered half-hearted devotion? The Lord is still refining His people – and He will not stop until our faith shines like gold (1 Peter 1:7). Rejoice that Jesus makes our worship acceptable. And offer yourself to Him today as a living sacrifice – holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
The Original Context
Psalm 118 was likely sung during one of Israel’s major festivals, like Passover. It was a song of thanksgiving – a declaration of God’s steadfast love and salvation. The image of the “stone that the builders rejected” (v. 22) captured Israel’s story: once overlooked and often oppressed, now lifted up by the Lord to a place of prominence and purpose. God had done something unexpected and wonderful, and the people were called to rejoice.
In its immediate context, this passage may have celebrated a king’s return to the temple after a victory, or perhaps commemorated God’s steadfast love and deliverance of His people. Verses 25-27 echo the cries of those longing for salvation, welcoming the one who comes in God’s name and leading the sacrifice to the altar in thanksgiving.
Fulfillment in Jesus
Centuries later, as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people cried out these very words:
“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Their cry of “Hosanna!” literally means “Save us now!” and is the Hebrew word from the beginning of v. 25. They waved palm branches and welcomed Jesus as the promised King. Yet they did not realize the kind of salvation He had come to bring – not military or political victory, but a deeper, eternal rescue.
Jesus is the true and better cornerstone – the One whom the religious “builders” rejected but God exalted (Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11). He is the foundation of a new and everlasting temple, not made with hands but built through His body, the church (Ephesians 2:19-22). And he did not merely lead the sacrifice to the altar – He Himself was the festal sacrifice. He was not led in by a priest but rode into Jerusalem willingly. He did not have to be bound with cords because He “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
The light of God’s salvation has Indeed shone on us through Jesus. And it is beautiful and marvelous to behold.
Hope for Today
Palm Sunday is a call to see the faithfulness of God in action. What He promised, He fulfilled. The long-awaited King came. The cornerstone was set. The sacrifice was made.
And because “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23), we too can hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. Even when we feel rejected, overlooked, or uncertain, we can trust that God is building something good and glorious, even when we cannot fully see it yet.
So today, don’t glance at this moment in Jesus’s story – step into it. Cry out to Him with “Hosanna!” knowing full well that He has saved and will save, knowing that He will meet you in your time of need. Lift your voice in praise and cry out “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” knowing that He was promised to come and that He did – and that He will again! And let your heart rest in the Savior who was once rejected but now reigns forevermore!
Sunday’s coming — the LORD’s day, and I’m excited!
Every Sunday is a celebration of the goodness and grace of God, reminding us that He not only died for us but that He raised from the dead and LIVES for us! This Sunday at Christ community, we are going to sing about His goodness and grace and remember His mercy and how He saves.
In Titus 3:4-5a, Paul gives us one of the clearest, richest summaries of the gospel:
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy….”
Let’s break that down and take it to heart:
“But….”
This is a very important conjunction. It takes everything before, cancelling it in favor of what comes after. In the context of Titus 3, what came before is what we once were: “once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing out days in envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). BUT Jesus cancels that out in favor of His salvation.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared….”
Paul is reminding us that salvation starts with GOD — not with us, not with our efforts or any righteousness of our own. The word “appeared” points us directly to Jesus’s first coming — God in flesh. He didn’t send a proxy or representative. He didn’t send salvation. God showed up Himself.
Jesus is the visible expression of God’s goodness and loving kindness, because He Himself is God being good and loving. He didn’t wait for us to climb up to Him (which we can’t do — remember, not with our efforts); He came down to us. His goodness and light broke into our sin and darkness.
“…He saved us….”
These three words change everything. God didn’t tell us what we could be doing better. He didn’t merely advise or improve us — He SAVED us. That speaks of our reality and need. we were lost, helpless, and dead in our sin, but HE acted. He rescued. He redeemed. These three words are a beautiful reminder that salvation is not self-help but divine deliverance!
“…not because of works done by us in righteousness….”
This part humbles us. There is no room for pride or patting oneself on the back in the gospel. We can’t earn our salvation by cleaning up our act or doing good deeds. There are no scales that we can balance by heaping service and good deeds; in fact, if there is a scale, our sin has it solidly weighted down unless Jesus acts upon the other side. We can’t impress God into loving us. All our best works can’t bridge the gap between our sin and His holy, holy, holiness.
“…BUT according to His own mercy….”
There’s another “but” here. It takes the false hope of our own righteousness and cancels it out with the hope of God’s own mercy. This gets at the heart of the gospel: God saved us because He is merciful. That’s who He is. Mercy means that He does not treat us as our sins deserve. Instead, He pours out grace through Jesus — grace that cleanses, restores, and makes us new.
That’s good news!
And that good news — that gospel — no, “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” is who we are going to read, sing, and preach about this Sunday. We’re going to sing of His mercy.
Songs like “Holy Water” and “Washed Clean” will remind us that Jesus’s grace is what refreshes our hearts and keeps us coming back to Him in gratitude and worship. Then, we’ll read Philippians 2:5-11 and lift our eyes to Jesus, declaring His beautiful and powerful name — the name that is above every other. We’ll sing “Your Great Name” and “What a Beautiful Name” as a response to the Savior who stooped low to save us and is now exalted on high at the right hand of the Father.
If you have been saved by Jesus in His mercy, come ready to rejoice!
And if you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus, know this: His goodness and loving kindness have appeared. He is still saving. He is still merciful. Come lay your burdens on Him. Come and receive the mercy that never runs dry. Come to Him.
4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing and regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Every week, our faith family gathers because of all that Jesus has done for us — His life, His death, His resurrection, His work even now, and His imminent return. We don’t gather to impress each other or prove ourselves on the basis of religion or attendance. We come because we need Jesus — and because He has made a way for sinners (like us) to be made right with a holy, holy, holy God.
This Sunday at Christ Community, we will spend time in worship reading 1 John 1:5-2:2. It’s a beautiful and powerful reminder that God is light, and that in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). That’s both comforting and confronting. It comforts us because it means that God is pure, holy, trustworthy, and sinless (everything we aren’t), but it also confronts us because when we step into His light, our sin is exposed. So, we don’t get to walk in darkness and claim to have fellowship with the God who is light (1 John 1:6).
That sounds like bad news if we were to stop there, but praise GOD, the good news is coming in 1 John 1:7: “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
The blood of Jesus. That’s our hope. He is our hope. Our sins — real, serious, and shameful though they are — can be cleansed by His blood. Y’all, that’s not just a line from some hymn but the truth of the gospel.
That gospel saturates every part of our worship gatherings. We read it together from the Word. We sing it. John opens the Word and preaches it. And we have the opportunity to hear it from our own voices and the voices of our brothers and sisters, reminding us that Jesus doesn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up to come to Him — He came to save us while we were still sinners, and He did it because He loves us (Romans 5:8)!
As 1 John 2:1-2 says, when we do sin (and we do), we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous! He is the propitiation for our sins. He bore the wrath of God due for our sin, took our place on the cross we deserve, made peace by the blood of His cross, and gives the LIFE He has and the favor of God He deserves to those who put their trust in Him — for those who confess Him as Lord.
If you need to be reminded that God is still gracious and Jesus still saves, come on (Titus 3:4-7, Hebrews 7:25).
You won’t be out of place because our gathering is full of sinners in need of grace (Luke 5:31-32, 1 Timothy 1:15). The only difference is that many of us sinners have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). You’ll hear us pour our hearts out singing “Thank You, Jesus, for the blood applied…. Thank You, Jesus, You have saved my life!” You’ll hear us sing “O the blood, it is my victory!” You’ll hear us sing because we haven’t moved past our need for grace. We’ve just come to the One who gives it freely (Romans 3:23-25, John 1:16, Revelation 22:17).
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day — Sunday, and I’m excited!
Every week at Christ Community, we gather because the gospel — the good news about Jesus — is true: He really lived, died, and rose again to save sinners and bring us into life eternally with Him. You see, we don’t gather to prove ourselves, check some religious attendance box, or pretend we have it all together. No, we gather because we need Jesus.
There’s more good news: He came to save. This is clearly seen in some of the verses we will read together in worship.
16For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
And how did He do that? The apostle Paul puts it plainly, saying it is the most important message, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:
…Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, …He was buried, …He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….
This is the most important news, the good news we call the gospel. It is what we proclaim with our mouths and our lives. It is at the heart of everything we sing, read, pray, and preach. Jesus gave Himself for us — not when we are all cleaned up and put together but while we were lost, guilty, and broken.
One of the songs we will sing, “God So Loved”, takes the message of John 3:16 and other passages to give an invitation to come to Jesus. Ponder these words:
Bring all your failures Bring your addictions Come lay them down at the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting there with open arms God so loved the world
If you have never trusted in Jesus as Savior — confessed Him as Lord and believed that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9), we pray that you consider these words today. This is the more important invitation, to come to Him more than coming to church.
We would also like to invite you to gather with us where you will hear this gospel again and again. Even if you have trusted in Him, we invite you to gather with us, praying that your heart might be stirred again by the wonder of His gospel — His love, grace, mercy, and salvation — and respond with fresh joy, worship, and devotion to Him.
This gospel will saturate our songs. When John opens the book of Hebrews, this gospel is at the heart of the book and the sermon. We will read the good news together.
16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Every Sunday, we gather to worship Jesus — the One who has rescued us from darkness and brought us into His glorious Kingdom. We sing to Him and about Him because He alone is worthy!
Colossians 1:13-14 declare this good news:
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
This is the heart of our worship. We don’t sing to check a box or go through religious motions. We sing because Jesus has saved us! He is the One who gave His life to redeem us, the One who forgives our sins, and the One who rules over all things (Colossians 1:15-20).
This Sunday at Christ Community, the substance of our songs and the sermon John preaches will proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord, the only hope for the world.
And YOU are INVITED to gather with us!
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
Scripture | Colossians 1:13-20 —
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Tomorrow is the Lord’s day — Sunday, and I’m excited!
A lot of people just think of Sunday as the first day of the week, but for those who Jesus has saved, it reminds us of that Sunday millennia ago when Jesus rose from the dead. That day secured our salvation and gave us an unshakeable hope. As we gather to worship Jesus tomorrow, that unshakeable hope in Jesus alone is what we are going to sing about!
One of the passages we will be reading in worship, Psalm 62:5-8, reminds us of that hope:
5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. 6He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
David’s words here from Psalm 62 are a powerful reminder to us that, no matter what uncertainties we face, God is our refuge and firm foundation. In a world that is as changing as shifting sand, Jesus alone us unmovable and unshakeable. Our salvation, security, peace, and hope rest in Him. We can trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him always and at all times.
Tomorrow, as we gather at Christ Community, we will lift our voices in songs that proclaim this beautiful truth. We will sing of the steadfast hope we have in Jesus — hope that is not fragile, not fleeting — but firm and eternal. We will raise our voices and encourage one another to trust in Jesus alone. As always, John will open God’s Word and point us to Jesus.
Won’t you gather with us?
Here are our Scripture and songs:
Scripture | Psalm 103:8-14 —
8The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him. 14For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. 6He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 7On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
*Sometimes we see the need to changing the wording of a song for doctrinal reasons (meaning the lyrics contain theological inaccuracies or fail to align with clear biblical teaching).
In the case of “The Truth”, look at the original lyrics for the chorus:
The truth is I am my Father’s child I make Him proud and I make Him smile I was made in the image of a perfect King He looks at me and wouldn’t change a thing The truth is I am truly loved By a God who’s good when I’m not good enough I don’t belong to the lies I belong to You — that’s the truth
Here are the lyrics as we have changed them:
The truth is I am my Father’s child I make Him proud and I make Him smile I am made in the image of a perfect King He saved me and changed everything The truth is I am truly loved By a God who’s good when I’m not good enough I don’t belong to the lies I belong to You — that’s the truth
While the sentiment of the original lyrics is that we come to God just as we are, it is inaccurate to say that He wouldn’t change anything about us. He takes us just as we are, but if He saves us, He transforms us (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:2) from His enemies to His friends (Romans 5:10, John 15:15), from far off from Him to brought near (Ephesians 2:12-13), from dead in our trespasses and sins to alive in Christ by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:1-8). He takes sinners and gives them new life in Him (Colossians 2:13-14), and — as the lyrics just before it say, “I am made in the image of a perfect King”, we recognize that if God has saved us — again, transforming us from lost in sin to saved by and through Him — He takes the image of God married by sin (Genesis 1:27, Romans 3:23) and makes us new, creating us “after the likeness of God” (Ephesians 4:24) by conforming us “to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29)!
If we don’t want to “belong to the lies” and know what it is to belong to Christ, we need to realize that we need Him to change us — that the beauty of Him being willing to accept us in our sin is that He loves us enough not to leave us in it. That’s the truth, and that’s good news!
Greetings, Sojourners, and welcome to this week’s Refresh & Restore Bible study!
We’re kicking off a new study today through the book of Revelation, but it’s not going to be a typical study of the book of Revelation. I’ll be going through it conversationally with Jamie Harrison, and we’re calling it The KING is Coming.
Today, we’ll be opening with Revelation 1:1-8 to introduce and open the study:
1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”[1]
Keith Harris: Jamie Harrison is with us, and he’s going to talk to us about the book of Revelation. We will be doing this, as I said earlier, conversationally. I am as curious as any to see how this is going to go.
Jamie Harrison: Same here.
Keith: So, Revelation – The KING is Coming….
Jamie: Revelation. I love the fact that you say Revelation and not RevelationS. That’s a common misconception with the book of RevelatioN. If you look, and I’m pretty sure any translation of the Bible, it’ll say Revelation is singular.
I love the way John MacArthur puts it in his Revelation Bible study. He says,
“Revelation depicts Jesus as the risen, glorified Son of God, ministering among the churches as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of Earth as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, as the first and the last, as the Son of Man, as the one who was dead but now is alive forevermore, as the Son of God, as the One who is holy and true, as the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as the Lamb in heaven with authority to open the title deed to the earth, as the Lamb on the throne, as the Messiah who will reign forever, as the Word of God, as the majestic King of kings and Lord of lords, returning in glorious splendor to conquer His foes, and as the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star.”[2]
What does all that mean? That the Revelation is Jesus.
I think it’s important to start off with the fact that the book of Revelation is oftentimes misunderstood as a book of something we’re supposed to guess about and put together conjecture….
Keith: …a code to break….
Jamie: That’s right. And draw pictures of what this might be and what that might be.
The book of Revelation is about Jesus. The whole Bible builds up to this book, right?
Keith: Which is why it’s last in the canon[3] – because it’s supposed to be.
Jamie: That’s correct!
A couple of things before we get started, just so everyone knows what we’re not doing in this study. We’re not speculating about whether Jesus might come back on this day or on that day. We’re not debating on which theory is right or wrong. We’re not getting into the whole pre-, mid-, post-trib thing – anything like that; we’re going to present those as common approaches as to when Jesus is going to come.
Keith: Acknowledge them, but if I remember when we first talked about this, the goal was a verse-by-verse study of the book of Revelation, like one studies the other sixty-five books of the Bible.
Jamie: That’s correct. I think that’s it.
I think the best approach to the book of Revelation, because so many people that listen to this and so many of the conversations I’ve had with people over the years we’ve been doing this study at our church – if you have pre-conceived notions of anything in the book of Revelation, I genuinely pray that you approach it with the Holy Spirit as our teacher (John 14:26). We must have total dependence on Him. Total. Dependence. On Him.
Keith: I think this is a good time to reference that as we do these Bible studies, as we seek to be refreshed and restored – not just in the Revelation study but in all of them, this is not self-help; it’s not a magic pill or some sort of sorcery or incantation. The Holy Spirit is your teacher if you have faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation comes by grace through faith in Him alone. If He has saved you, He is your teacher.
If not, we invite you to confess Him as Lord, to believe in your heart that He died on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day, and that by putting your faith in Him by asking – calling out – to Him, trusting that He will save you (Romans 10:9-13, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
If that’s the case, the book of Revelation will be good news. If it’s not the case, there will be several places in this study that will not be good news.
Jamie: That’s correct. One of the things that has kept coming up in our Bible study at church is that, man, it seems Revelation is full of bad news all the way through, but then, all of a sudden, you know, if you really pay attention every time something “bad” is given, it is followed up by something that’s awesome!
Keith: The King IS coming! That’s what all the “bad” is going to culminate in – the most awesome.
Jamie: And He’s coming whether you want Him to or not.
The last thing before we get into it is to talk about the timeline of Revelation real quick, just because a lot of times when you read Revelation, you automatically think: OK, well, we’re reading this in order – you know this happens, then this happens. But the fact is, the timeline of Revelation is what John saw next.
A couple of examples of that is in ch. 1:12 (CSB)[4], it says,
“Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands….”
So that’s what he saw when he turned. It doesn’t mean it was in order (chronologically) of what he just said. Chapter 4:1, another good example:
“After this I looked….”
So, after what he had just talked about – after he had received the letters to the churches, he looked and there in heaven was an open door. It doesn’t mean that he received the letters and, then, that’s what happened next. This is what he saw next.
Keith: A timeline for us to plan this all out isn’t part of the goal.
Going back to what you said earlier, the goal is for us to see Jesus Christ revealed – as He revealed this to John.
Jamie: That’s it. That’s correct. Just don’t get caught up trying to figure out when Jesus is coming. The fact is…we don’t know. And if anyone tells you different, they’re a liar – a false prophet.
Keith: Because Jesus says it cannot be known (Matthew 24:36).
Jamie: That’s right. The only inclination we’re given is in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 where we’re told that believers will be able to tell that the tribulation is happening. They will understand it by things that are going on because they’ve read the Bible and they’re filled with the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t mean they’ll know when Jesus is coming. That just means they’ll understand the times that are going on.
Keith: When you look at a lot of the people who are trying to narrow it down to a date – that’s often for their own glory. You think of Harold Camping who had one date, then other date, and then kind of just goes into relative obscurity because he didn’t get (it right) or the glory he was looking for. It’s about the coming of Jesus, not the one who can pinpoint the date. It’s about Him, not setting up some fruitful and enriching – monetary or otherwise – eschatology[5] ministry for people who are afraid to kind of twist them or turn them whichever way (2 Timothy 3:6-7, Romans 16:17-18, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Jude 4, Ephesians 4:14).
Jamie: That’s right.
Now, with all of that being said, let’s jump into it.
Keith: Sounds good.
Jamie: So, we started in v. 1. And this is to just reiterate how we started, it says:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place.”
According to v. 1 – let me see how to phrase this – the Bible gives all the answers, right? If you can’t find the answers in the Bible, then the answer is “I don’t know”.
Keith: Right, and that’s a very good answer because it’s always better – and especially if people ask you, dear Sojourners, something that you don’t know, it’s better to tell them that you don’t know and that you’re willing to seek it out in Scripture than to make something up. (Making up answers) has never served Christ well or built up His Church. So, Jamie and I are fans of “I don’t know”.
Jamie: Yes, big fan. Those are three of my favorite words actually.
So, v. 1 gives us the answer to this revelation is an unveiling of. Revelation is an unveiling, a revealing, of all these things we are about to read about. There was what these people looked like and these animals look like and all these things – what in the world is that? None of that, in the end, matters. What matters is the unveiling – the revealing – of the revelation of Jesus Christ. We’re given that answer right here at the beginning.
The next thing we find here is the chain of communication. We’re told how it was made known to the rest of us. There in v. 1 it says He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John. Who sent it to the angel? God did. So, God sent the revelation to the angel, the angel gave the revelation to John, and John gave the revelation to us.
Keith: To the seven churches and then to the rest of usthrough John.
Jamie: That is also an important thing to look at because people will say that this was just a man writing this book. Who is he? Why should we believe what he says? We’re told right from the beginning that this revelation comes from the mouth of God, as does all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Keith: That’s the argument that people commonly want to make. Oh, a man wrote this. Part of the Holy Spirit being our teacher if we are saved is believing that the Bible doesn’t contain God’s Words, it is God’s Word that He breathed out through these people who wrote it down, and He is faithful.
Jamie: Amen.
Off of that, who is this revelation for? This is written to seven specific churches. Is it for them, us – who is it for? Again, the Bible gives us the answer. Look at v. 3:
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Again, the Bible gives us the answer. Who is this for? It is for those who read it aloud, those who hear the words of the prophecy and those who keep what is written in it.
That’s who it’s for: everybody. If you read it – if you keep it, it’s for you.
Keith: And, I do think it’s important to clarify since there are so many – you can almost throw a rock in some towns and hit a church that’s “preaching” through Revelation – but so much of it is about their theories and conjectures. It needs to be important that, even and especially with our words, our commentary, our discussion of this, that it’s the words from the Bible that hold the power, that hold the weight.
And you don’t hear that in some of these eschatology, end-time studies. They are promoting their view.
Jamie: That’s such a big word you used there. What does eschatology mean?
Keith: Eschatology is the study of the end times – of what is to come.
Jamie: [joking] That’s for us simple-minded people.
Keith: I’ve seen over the last few weeks on social media – ads of various big-name, popular preachers – where you can get their fold-out guide to the apocalypse or you can get their timeline where they lay it out and say “This is the only way….” It’s free, but you click on the link and you’re selling a lot of stuff. Jesus’s revelation was freely given – good news and bad news – for the churches, for us to take heed of.
Jamie: So, we’re not selling this Bible study?
Keith: No, this is not a money-making venture. That has not been my experience.
Jamie: Apologies, I thought we were going to get rich quick.
Keith: No. In fact, I was hoping some money would fall out of your pocket while we were recording – that was my only chance.
Jamie: Coincidentally, I left my wallet in the truck.
Keith: So, we digress…back to the revelation.
Jamie: Here in vv. 4-6 we get to a description of the Trinity. It says,
“John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, Who was, and Who is to come, from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father – to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
So, you get this really awesome description of the Trinity here, the One who is, was, and is to come. Obviously referring to God the Father from the seven spirits before His throne, referring to the Holy Spirit. That seven number there, Keith, I don’t know I you want to hit on it or just for our purposes say seven means (represents) fullness?
Keith: Right. Completion.
Jamie: That’s right. That’s the idea there. And then, finally, from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. I do think that’s important to talk about real quick. Faithful witness, meaning that if he says it you can take it to the bank. Everything Jesus has ever said – when He was here on earth or things that He’s revealed through His Spirit – has been accurate, has been true. And not only that, He’s a faithful witness because He was there from the beginning.
Keith: I think that’s very important to say because, a lot of the time we see the word “witness” in the New Testament, it’s the Greek word from which we get our word “martyr”. He was faithful with His life from before the foundation of the world all the way to His incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and always will be because he’s an eternally faithful witness because He was and is and is to come.
Jamie: That’s right. John 1 speaks to that. It says in John 1:14:
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed His glory, the glory as of the One and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
So, the Word became flesh. Ok, now watch this. John 1:1:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
He was with God in the beginning, so John 1:14 tells us the Word became flesh – obviously referring to Jesus – He was there from the beginning. When creation happened, Jesus was there. And don’t get that confused. He wasn’t somebody randomly created along the way.
Keith: He is God because He wasn’t created.
And don’t expect a explanation of the Trinity here because, well, let’s be honest. If someone could fully explain all of who God is then somebody made Him up. I think it’s C.S. Lewis – what’s that book we read? Mere Christianity. He said the way the Bible presents things is just odd enough that man couldn’t have made it up.[6] It’s so different – and in some places unexplainable that dome dude didn’t think of it. That’s good news!
Jamie: It is. Amen.
The other part here, of vv. 5-6, that I want to point out is you get this spontaneity of praise that happens. It’s just this seemingly random, you know, we’re getting a description here when all of a sudden he goes into this praise moment where he’s like “the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth”. Think about that for a second. “To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood”. This moment of praise for salvation for being made into a kingdom and priests to God – “glory and dominion forever and ever”. Amen. What I want to point out about this is when we’re going through our everyday life – when we’re going to work, when you’re dealing with whatever, all the issues, all the problems, whatever, we should have moments every day where we stop and for whatever reason it just hits us and we stop and say thank you to Him. Now, I’m not saying you’re in the middle of Walmart and you all of a sudden start shouting and running the aisles and doing all that. That would be glorifying yourself not the Lord.
Keith: Attention to you rather than Him.
Jamie: That’s right. What I’m talking about is a moment where you just sit back and you go, “Thank you, Lord, for saving me. Thank you for choosing me. Out of all the people in the world, you chose me.”
Keith: And those won’t be moments where you’ve done something great. I know when they come in my life that it’s done that is boneheadedly stupid – sin that I know better than to commit, or that I willingly committed knowing full well it was sin, and then it hitting me, the impact that He has freed us from our sins by His blood that…. Was it Romans 5:8?
“…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It’s that realization that I can’t believe He would want to love me. It’s just such a…. It’s that He is praiseworthy. Not because of what He’s done for us, but because He and His character would do something like that for people like us.
Jamie: That verse always reminds me of that movie about emotions. [Inside Out] In the movie joy and anger and all those things, they’re trying to get back to the headquarters because Riley, the main character is going through puberty or whatever and has moved. She’s about to, you know, her emotions are going crazy – much like my middle school students I work with every day. Anyway, that verse reminds me of that because it says [in Romans 5:8-11]:
“God proved His own love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been [declared righteous] by His blood, will we be saved by Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.”
It reminds me of [Inside Out] because there’s all these fake people in their head – it’s an imagination thing – where these characters in her head would like die for Riley…. My point is the Bible [in Romans 5:7] asks how often someone would really be willing to die – even for a just person. Maybe for a good person somebody might die….
Keith: Somebody who you dearly love and has significance to you personally.
Jamie: But not some random person on the street who’s done you wrong. That’s the enemy – the language it uses in Romans 5:10-11. We’re talking about the person who hates you – strong word, but hates you and you know they do. Maybe they’ve messed you out of a job or whatever. You know they did something to you. Christ died for them.
Keith: I mean, that’s the context back in Revelation 1:7 – some of those He is “coming with the clouds” to get will include “even those who pierced Him”. There’s some bad news that there are “tribes of earth” that will wail on account of Him, but just like the Centurion standing at the foot of the cross who was one of the ones presiding over His execution (Matthew 27:54, Mark 14:39, Luke 23:47) said, “Surely this was the Son of God!”
Jesus saves sinners. Prior to coming to Christ, enemies – everyone is affiliated. There’s no unaffiliated random innocent person out in some jungle. All “have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). There’s enmity between us and God because of our sin, and He, willingly, because of His great love and mercy, died for even me.
Jamie: And that’s the second half of v. 5: “To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood”.
A couple of cross-references for you real quick – I’d be remiss to not give these. Verse 7:
“Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth, will mourn over him.’ So it is to be. Amen.”
Some cross-references for that are Isaiah 19:1, Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34-37, Genesis 12:3, Genesis 28:14, Zechariah 14:17. I just encourage you to go through those and read those because the Bible confirms the Bible. There’s nothing in the Bible that’s not going to be confirmed by something else in the Bible. And, if you’re reading something in the Bible and you think it means something that cannot be confirmed through other Scriptures, you might want to rethink that.
Keith: And you can look in the footnotes as well as in the parenthetical (in parenthesis) references and check what we say. You don’t need to take our word for this.
I’m not saying we’re not trustworthy. I’m saying we are fallible. We can misspeak and misunderstand from time to time. But God’s Word that is infallible.
Jamie: Before we finish up, here are some other verses from the spontaneity of praise in vv. 5-6. Y’all check out Revelation 4:9-11, 5:13, 7:11-12; Ephesians 3:20-21; 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 24-25. There’s a whole lot more; that’s just some. But as you’re reading the Word every day, there should be this moment where you just stop and praise the Lord. Like, [reading His Word] overwhelms you and His being Almighty.
I think one of the big questions from vv. 1-8 should be whether reading the Word leads to a moment of praise. And if it doesn’t, then we need to rethink and maybe rework why we’re reading the Word (and the way we’re reading the Word). You know, I like to turn my Bible plan on and hit play and listen to it while I’m getting ready in the mornings, but if that’s not leading me to a moment of praise then I need to rethink how I’m doing it because it’s not getting through, I’m just playing it to play it.
Keith: You’re getting through the Bible, not getting the Bible through you.
Jamie: That’s it.
Then, finally, the last two verses – what we just read in v. 7 and then in v. 8. I love this v. 8. In it, Jesus says,
“I am the Alpha and the Omega…the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This is a cool moment. The Lord introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega – which means the beginning and the end, the first and last letters (of the Greek alphabet – essentially the A-Z), the one who is, who was, and who is to come. The Almighty.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
So, the way Revelation starts is the way Revelation ends, letting us know that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega.
Keith: Letting us know He is the God who has always been. He is the God who is speaking, and as we’ve said throughout, He is the King who is coming! That gives me chill bumps!
Jamie: Yeah, and it’s not cold in here.[7] That’s a Holy Spirit bump, I would say.
Keith: Don’t miss this as we wrap this study. This is the first of however many it takes for us to get through this.
Jamie: Hopefully not as long as it’s been [in the church study].
Keith: As I’ve said, Jamie, it takes what it takes, but the idea here is to keep our focus on Jesus returning, Jesus coming back, because He has promised that He is.
Jamie: Hey, let’s talk about that for a second – just for a second. In vv. 7-8, talking about He’s coming back and we know He’s coming. We’re told at the end of v. 3 “because the time is near”, and I know everybody looks and they freak out because this was way back then the time isnear. All that means is God’s time frame is near because God’s time frame and our time frame are two different things, ok? You know, just keep that in the back of your mind.
I want you to understand that from the beginning of the Bible in Genesis to the end of the Bible in Revelation, it all leads up to this moment: He is coming, coming as the conquering King. He is coming as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
And, I’m sorry – I’m going off on a little thing here, but y’all just really think about this for a minute when it says every, single one, I want you to think about all the people around the world. Right? People – we always go to political leaders and stuff, and I was trying not to name drop anybody because, I just don’t like doing that, but I guess I’m about to anyway. But just think of people like Vladimir Putin – who is an atheist, right? Totally against God, and, man, when Jesus comes back, his knees are going to bow, his tongue is going to confess.
I think of – what was the real famous atheist that just died? The science guy in the chair? Stephen Hawking. He was totally against God – and clarified that he was going into nothingness. His knees are going to bow. His tongue is going to confess.
Keith: And I think that’s a good spot for us to get to today, not timewise but just thoughtwise. Sojourners, while we are recording this podcast, my nine-year-old (at the time) son is sitting in our living room is waiting on someone to pick him up – a friend who has asked him to hang out. And he’s been up there – it’s currently 10:15 in the morning, and he’s been up since before 7:00a in expectation – because it’s something he’s looking forward to. He is not anxious. He’s not disappointed in the wait. There’s an expectation, though.
And so we talk about every knee bowing, what you have to ask yourself is what heart-position is going to accompany your bowed knee. When it says that we know Jesus is coming as the conquering King, are you kneeling in subjection, in recognition that you have been conquered because the King of kings and Lord of lords has won the day? Or are you doing it in worship of the King who you have longed for His return – that He who is on the throne is coming, and there will be a Day when you get to stand before Him? When He pulls you from your knees. When He exalts you as it says in 1 Peter 5:6 by the mighty Hand of God and get pulled into an embrace. That’s the expectation. Or if that’s not it, then we definitely have some soul searching we need to do.
[6] Mere Christianity publication info and actual quote?
[7] Fun story: it really was not cold the morning we recorded this first Bible study for Revelation. In fact, we didn’t know it but my air conditioner when out while we were recording!
7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him for you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions – if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hieropolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” 18I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
📖 Revelation 5:1–14In this episode of The King is Coming, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison continue into the throne room of heaven—and what unfolds in Revelation 5 is one of the most powerful and familiar scenes in all of Scripture. A scroll appears in the right hand of the One seated on the throne, sealed with seven seals. A mighty angel asks a question that echoes through heaven and earth: Who is worthy to open the scroll?At first, no one is found—and John weeps. But then everything changes. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered… and when John turns, he sees not a lion, but a Lamb standing as though slain—and alive.Together, Keith and Jamie discuss:✔️ The significance of the sealed scroll and why only the rightful heir can open it✔️ The difference between ability and worthiness—and why no one but Jesus qualifies✔️ Why John hears “Lion” but sees a slain Lamb—and what that reveals about Christ✔️ How Jesus conquers not by force, but through His death and resurrection✔️ The connection to the Passover Lamb and the redemption of God’s people✔️ The overwhelming worship of heaven declaring Jesus alone is worthyThis chapter is the turning point: the Lamb who was slain is alive—and He alone is worthy to carry out God’s plan.“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)🔗 If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
We have made it – the end of our study of the book of Colossians! I have enjoyed getting to study and write about this letter and hope it has been helpful for you. It is good for us to spend time studying His Word and especially good for us to truly understand that Jesus is indeed over all.
Our passage today is often just tacked on at the end of an expository book study (preacher language for preaching and teaching through a book, verse-by-verse) as a sort of wrap up. But I want us to see that this passage, like all of Scripture, is breathed out by God and profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). I think it serves as a good reminder that this was an actual letter to a real church. The church at Colossae – and all of the churches in all of the cities Paul visited on his missionary journeys and wrote to – was a real church filled with real people. Paul’s close to this letter is similar to the rest of his letters as he and those present with him greet the recipients of the letter. There are also specific greetings, similar to how in modern speech, say a phone call to family or friends you haven’t seen in a while might say, “Tell your folks I said, ‘hi’” or “tell Aunt So-and-So I love her”. It’s personal.
At the same time, this letter – and the other letters/epistles in the New Testament – are more. They are Scripture because, as I mentioned above, the Holy Spirit breathed out this letter through Paul. He chose to use Paul’s writing to this church, to these real people, to write to our churches and all the churches in the years between and beyond until Jesus returns to gather His people to Himself. In a sense, these letters are as much from God’s Spirit to His people as it ever was Paul’s to the church and people he cared for in Colossae.
So we are going to look at a couple of the guys Paul mentions at the close of his letter and find some application for our lives. Before we do that, though, I want us to briefly review some big takeaways from our Jesus Over All study of Colossians.
Nine Takeaways from Our Previous Bible Studies in Colossians
Each of these takeaways come from early Bible studies in our Jesus Over All study and serve to help us wrap our minds around the whole book in context. Let’s dive in.
Jesus is enough, and His gospel transforms lives (1:1-14).
Paul reminds us that Jesus is sufficient to save and especially against all false teachings. When He saves people, His gospel bears fruit of that salvation in their transformed lives. This is the kind of growth we should seek after, and it should drive us to pray, rely on God’s power, and exhibit gratitude for our redemption in Jesus.
Jesus is supreme over all creation and reconciles sinners to God through His blood on the cross (1:15-23).
Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. He is both Creator and Redeemer, holding all things together. His being preeminent as well as the Savior who sacrificed Himself for our sins forms the foundation for our faith, securing our hope in Him alone and calling us to believe what His Word says about Him.
God can use suffering to strengthen His Church, and His Word is the foundation for spiritual maturity (1:24-2:10).
Paul’s endurance for the gospel challenges us to view our own trials and difficulties as a means of growing in Christ. If we are rooted in Him and His truth, we will – through His power and Spirit – be able to stand firm against deception and grow in our faith, walking in Him with gratitude and confidence.
Jesus frees us from spiritual captivity and forgives sin through His victory on the cross (2:8-15).
False teachings seek to deceive us, but Jesus seeks to give fullness of life and freedom. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus cancels the debt of sin and triumphs over the forces of evil, securing an eternal salvation that cannot be taken away.
True faith rests in Christ alone, not human traditions of religious practices (2:16-23).
The equation is simple: Jesus + nothing = everything! Paul warns against adding rules and regulations to the gospel, reminding us that only Jesus can save. False teachings want distort and confuse, but they lack the power to bring any true or lasting change.
Believers are called to set their minds on Jesus and live for His Kingdom (3:1-4).
Having been raised with Jesus, our focus shifts. We no longer need to be distracted by things on earth because our eyes (and lives) should be focused on the eternal hope of Christ in glory. Our identity is not wrapped up in earthly things but hidden in Christ. This means that our lives should reflect Jesus’s rule over us – He is Lord, after all.
Be killing sin in your life, or it will be killing you (3:5-11).
Sin in our lives needs to be put do death, reminding us that Jesus’s redemption frees us from sin’s power. Being born again in Jesus means living as new creations and calls us to cast off our old selves and embrace being renewed in His image.
Christlike character leads to unity, love, and peace in the church and is exhibited in worship that exalts Christ, is rooted in His Word, and overflows into real, every-day life (3:12-17).
As God’s chosen people, we are called to put on compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and love. These are more than mere actions because they are fruit of having new life in Jesus. They are part of our worship of Him. Worship, then, is more than personal preference because it is shaped by His Word, instructing our hearts and all we do in His name – every word, song, and action.
Every aspect of life – home, work, and speech – should reflect Jesus’s rule in our hearts (3:18-4:6).
We see here again that Jesus saving us is to impact our real, everyday lives – how we live in all aspects of our lives. Whether in our families, jobs, or conversations with people, those Jesus saved are to live in a way that honors and points to Him. Walking in wisdom, speaking with grace, and serving others faithfully are a few ways Paul uses to show how our lives are to display Jesus’s lordship in all things.
One Final Takeaway: Learning from the Lives and Legacies of Mark and Demas (vv. 10, 14)
All of the people mentioned in this last section mattered to Paul. He wasn’t idly name-dropping or merely recognizing acquaintances. These were men who were involved in Paul’s ministry or had specific messages for the Colossian church. The emphasis in Colossians 3:1–4:6 on how being in Christ should impact real life was not just religious talk—it had shaped Paul’s life, and it was shaping the lives of those he wrote to as well.
Tychicus and Onesimus (vv. 7-9) hand-delivered this letter to the Colossian church. They had additional information about Paul’s circumstances and were sent to serve and encourage the believers.
Aristarchus, Mark, and “Jesus who is called Justus” (vv. 10-11) were with Paul in his imprisonment. They were the only Jewish believers remaining in Rome with Paul, ministering to him and taking part in the kingdom work happening from his prison cell. Paul says that they were “a comfort” to him, and they sent their greetings to the Colossians.
Epaphras (vv. 12-13), the Colossian church’s pastor, also sent greetings. Though he was on mission in Rome, ministering to Paul, he was still “struggling” for the Colossians in prayer, asking that they “may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God” (v. 12). Paul testified to his continual labor in prayer, not only for his own church but also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis (v. 13).
Luke, “the beloved physician” (v. 14)—who would later write the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts—also sent his greetings, along with Demas.
Paul extended his greetings to the church at Laodicea, particularly to Nympha and the church meeting in her home (v. 15). Though this letter was addressed to the Colossians, it was meant to be read in Laodicea as well. Paul also had a specific word for a Laodicean believer named Archippus, encouraging him to “see that [he] fulfill the ministry [he had] received in the Lord” (v. 17).
These were real people whom Paul loved and cared about. He wanted them to know that, which is why this final section was written with great effort in his own handwriting, even as his hands were bound in chains (v. 18).
So, what does this mean for us? Paul didn’t mention any of you dear sojourners who I care about today. There were no personal greetings to future churches in yet-undiscovered or unsettled regions of the world. What are we supposed to take from this?
I’m glad you asked.
Our final takeaway from this study in Colossians is to consider the lives of two men Paul mentioned in this section: Mark and Demas.
Mark, also known as John Mark—the writer of the Gospel that bears his name—had a complicated history with Paul. That’s why Paul included specific instructions that the Colossians should welcome him. Mark’s cousin, Barnabas, had been Paul’s partner in his first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3), and Mark had joined them. But after facing hardships, Mark abandoned the mission and returned home (Acts 13:13). Paul took this seriously. So, when Paul and Barnabas were preparing for their second journey, Barnabas wanted to bring Mark again (Acts 15:37). Paul disagreed, believing it was unwise to take someone who had withdrawn from the work (Acts 15:38). Their disagreement was so sharp that Paul and Barnabas parted ways—Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus, while Paul took Silas and continued elsewhere (Acts 15:39-41).
Yet here, years later, we see Mark restored. Not only was he no longer a liability, but he was one of the few Jewish believers standing with Paul in his imprisonment. The same man who had once quit now endured alongside Paul in even greater trials. God had grown and matured him. The Holy Spirit had worked in him, and Paul recognized that. Paul wanted the Colossians to know that Mark was no longer the same man he had once been—he was to be welcomed as a fellow laborer in the faith.
Then, there was Demas.
We don’t know Demas’s backstory, only that at the time Paul wrote to the Colossians and to Philemon, Demas was counted among his fellow laborers (Philemon 24). Paul took seriously those who ministered alongside him, and Demas had been part of his team. Like Luke, he had the privilege of sending greetings to the churches.
Yet, by the time Paul wrote 2 Timothy—his final letter, written as he awaited execution—Demas had abandoned him. But unlike Crescens, Titus, and Tychicus, who had left to serve elsewhere (2 Timothy 4:10-12), Demas had left for another reason: he was “in love with this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10).
Read that again. Paul was on death row, awaiting execution, and Demas deserted him—not because of a call to another ministry, but because of love for the world. This wasn’t just a personal disappointment for Paul—it was recorded as Scripture, meaning the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write it (2 Timothy 3:16).
But in that same chapter, we see something else. Paul, who had once written Mark off as unfit for ministry, now told Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
What a contrast!
Wrapping Up
I suppose this is where we try to bring everything together, but in truth, the contrast between Mark and Demas does much of the work for us. Their lives illustrate the heart of what we’ve seen throughout Colossians—Jesus is over all, but will we live as if that’s true?
Both of these men participated in ministry and mission. Both walked alongside Paul. Both had moments where they turned away. But what set them apart was not just their failures—it was where they turned afterward. Mark, despite quitting early on, was restored. He grew. The same gospel that Paul proclaimed in Colossians transformed him, matured him, and drew him back to faithfulness (Colossians 1:6). By the end of Paul’s life, Mark was a trusted and needed partner in ministry (2 Timothy 4:11).
Demas, however, loved this present world. That love pulled him away. We don’t know how his story ended, but we do know that he abandoned Paul in his greatest hour of need (2 Timothy 4:10). And that leaves us with a question: when trials come, when the cost of following Christ feels too high, when the comforts of the world beckon—who will we be? A Demas, in love with the world? Or a Mark, restored by the grace of God?
The entire book of Colossians has pressed us to consider the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ. We have seen that Jesus is enough, that His gospel transforms lives (Colossians 1:13-14), that He holds all things together (Colossians 1:17), and that His rule should be evident in our everyday lives (Colossians 3:17). We have been reminded that true faith rests in Christ alone, not in religious performance (Colossians 2:16-17). We have been challenged to put sin to death (Colossians 3:5), to walk in wisdom (Colossians 4:5), to love and serve in His name (Colossians 3:12-14), and to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:1-2).
So, as we conclude, the real question is this: Do we believe it? Is Jesus truly over all in our lives—not just in theory, but in how we live, work, worship, and relate to others? When hardship comes (Colossians 1:24), when the world entices (Colossians 2:8), when following Christ requires sacrifice (Colossians 3:3-4), what will our response be?
I don’t know your story, but I do know this—God is faithful. He is patient. He is at work in you just as He was in Mark, just as He was in Paul, just as He has been in all who are His (Philippians 1:6). The same Jesus who rules over creation rules over your life (Colossians 1:18), and He is able to strengthen you, sustain you, and keep you until the end (Jude 24-25).
Sojourners, it has been a privilege to study Colossians with you. I pray, like Epaphras prayed for the Colossians, that you “may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). May we live as people who truly believe that Jesus is over all. And may He be glorified in our lives, both now and forever.
Just Keith Harris 