What Does Jesus Look Like?

Revelation 1:9-20

I think we all have a picture in our mind of what Jesus looked like when He was on Earth. But, what will He look like when we see Him face to face? The account that John gives us in Revelation gives us a pretty good idea of what the glorified Jesus looks like. Whether He looks like this all the time in heaven or not, I do not know. What I do know about these verses is that they give us a lot of insight into the character of Jesus. Let's break them down and see what we can learn today.

The "Son of Man" was "dressed in a robe... with a golden sash..." symbolizes the reality of Christ's royalty. When He was on Earth, He did not take His rightful throne. When He returns, He will. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords whether or not humanity believes Him to be or not. "His head and hair were white like wool" symbolizes Christ's supreme wisdom in all circumstances. He is all knowing and He even has wisdom to share about our everyday circumstances. "Eyes like blazing fire" symbolizes Christ's penetrating insight, His all-knowing-ness so to speak. He sees all including what is in the heart of all men. Bronze feet symbolize His mighty power and the power to stomp out the enemy. The double-edged sword in His mouth symbolizes His divine judgment. The words of His mouth are what will stand. His word can cut through us completely to reveal the truth. His brilliant face is a reflection of the glory of God the Father.

You may be thinking, "how interesting...Thank you for sharing, but what does that mean for me today?" What God has taught me through these verses is that Jesus is not like me. So many times I put Him down on my level. He did choose to be human for a time and I do believe that He understands our struggles because He has lived through them, but He is so much bigger than me. He is God and I do not need to forget that. Secondly, He has shown me that we can be completely confident in this God that we serve. He has supreme wisdom, He sees all, knows all, is all-powerful, and is supreme judge over all circumstances and people. He knows me better than I know myself and when I come to Him over and over with the same issue, He not only sees that I am struggling, He even knows why. And, He does not just keep it a secret. Over time He reveals to me the wisdom I need.

The last thing I want us to look at in the verses is the significance of the lampstands and stars. Christ reveals the mystery of these in verse 20. The lampstands are the churches and the stars are the angels of the churches. There are two schools of thought on the "angels". Some theologians believe they are truly guardian angels for the churches while others believe this speaks to the "messengers" or pastors themselves. Either way, Christ holds them in His hand. He is in control of all things including what goes on in the body of Christ. Even when bad things happen in the Church and to the Church, we can trust that Jesus is still in control.

It is so important for us to know who this Jesus is that we worship. He is supreme and supernatural. Let us not forget who we are dealing with and "fall face down, as His glory shines around".