Sermon for All
Saints’, November 1, 2026
Grace, mercy,
and peace from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Revelation 7:13-17 13One
of the elders spoke to me and said, “These people dressed in white robes, who
are they and where did they come from?” 14And
I answered him, “Sir, you know.” And he
said to me: “These are the ones who are coming out of the great
tribulation. They have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Because of this they are in
front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his
temple. He who sits on the throne will
spread his tent over them. 16They
will never be hungry or thirsty ever again.
The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, 17for
the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living
water. And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes.” (EHV)
The Lamb of
God leads us in peace and joy everlasting.
Dear fellow redeemed,
Our
epistle lessons this morning were given to the apostle, John, in the Revelation
after he received the vision of the seven seals being opened. Our sermon time does not allow us to examine
the events pictured in that vision, but understand that the seven seals portray
the victorious Christ and all the trials of the end times in this world that Jesus
foretold would follow His victory over sin and death. Here, John is shown the result for those
believers God has brought to faith in Jesus throughout their time of
tribulation in this troubled world.
As the vast multitude of
all believers in heaven was shown to John, he reports, “One of the elders
spoke to me and said, ‘These people dressed in white robes, who are they and
where did they come from?’ And I
answered him, ‘Sir, you know.’” John
treats the question as rhetorical. He
was confident that the elder already had the answer, just as Jesus had taught
John the truth. The “where did they
come from” is easy. The only
possible conclusion is that these are people from earth—people who had no right
or claim to a place in heaven on their own merit.
John knew, just as we all
have been taught, that there is no one righteous on his own. Every part and portion of our body and soul
is corrupted by sin, as the Holy Spirit moved the psalmist to write and
repeated through St. Paul, “The Lord looks down from heaven on all the
children of Adam to see if there is anyone who understands, anyone who seeks
God. Every one has turned away. Altogether they have become rotten. There is no one who does good. There is not even one.” (Psalm 14:2-3)
That still leaves wide
open the question, “Who are they?” Could it be everyone who has ever lived? No, absolutely not, for apart from faith in
Jesus, no one can enter heaven. Jesus
made that clear when He declared, “I
am the Way and the Truth and the Life.
No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) Could it be those who did enough good works,
since James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) Please note, however, that James also wrote, “Whoever
keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point has become guilty of breaking all
of it.” (James 2:10) Consequently,
though James was encouraging believers to do the good works God has given us to
do, good works alone cannot save anyone.
However, the service and sacrifice of the Lamb of God has accomplished
everything needed to save sinners such as you and me. So again, we ask, “Who are they?”
The elder answered his own
question so that you and I would have sure hope and confidence in what Jesus
has done for us and the Holy Spirit has brought us to believe. He said, “These are the ones who are
coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.” They are people washed clean
in the blood of Jesus, God’s own beloved Son, who was sacrificed for the sins
of the world. His blood, shed on the
cross, has purified all those whom God the Holy Spirit has washed in the water
of Baptism and purified by the faith in Jesus that washing flood brings. The clothing here stands in for the lives of
those who believe in Jesus. Everything
you have ever done has been purified through Jesus. Yours sins are washed away, and the works you
do out of faith are considered as pure and as radiant as what Jesus did for you
and for all.
For that reason, those
people assembled before the throne of God, in the company and presence of God
and all the saved souls ever, include our dear friends, family members, and
other Christians both ancient, current, and forever who have fallen asleep in
Christ. Do you want to see your beloved
fellow believers after Judgment Day? Every
one of those dear people are standing in that crowd.
There is a place there for
you and me as well. We are promised in
the gospel of St. Mark, “Preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be
saved.” (Mark 16:15-16) St. Paul
wrote concerning Christians, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) In
baptism, you were cleansed of all sin so that you, through faith in Christ
Jesus, are fit for heaven. In baptism,
God claimed you as His own dear child.
In fact, Paul’s assurance to the Christians in Galatia is affirmed in this
vision given to John, for Paul wrote, “In fact, you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. Indeed,
as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.”
(Galatians 3:26-27)
Never take the blessings
of Baptism for granted. Those who are
baptized and believe in Jesus are the people pictured in this vision. Why should this be a big deal for us on a day
we remember and celebrate those who have gone on to heaven before us? It’s a big deal both now and forever, because
believers who are called out of this world through the portal of death are enjoying
forevermore what John saw. “They are
in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his
temple. He who sits on the throne will
spread his tent over them.” To
spread His tent over them means they have been accepted into God’s family and
His loving care forevermore. They stand
before God, not trembling in fear at His perfect holiness, but dressed in the
righteousness Jesus lived for them and for us.
His holiness has removed all fear of death or condemnation.
The vision shown to John
that day confirms the prophecies God gave through David in the Psalms. Psalm 121 promised, “The sun will not
strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” (Psalm 121:6) David’s faith recorded in the 23rd
Psalm, read at every funeral among us, assures, “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside quiet
waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm
23:1-3) Our text this morning certifies
that every prophecy is now fulfilled; the gates of heaven are open for all who
will believe in Jesus, and everlasting peace is available right now to those
God calls home, and the same will be ours forever, even after time and this
world cease to exist.
“They will never be
hungry or thirsty ever again. The sun
will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the
center of the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes.”
The ancient prophet Isaiah
wrote, “Why do you spend money on something that is not bread? Why do you waste your labor on something that
does not satisfy? Listen carefully to
me, and eat what is good. Satisfy your
appetite with rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2)
When the Jews were refusing to believe what He taught, Jesus told them, “This
is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat it and not
die. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If anyone eats this
bread, he will live forever. The bread
that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John
6:50-51) In the mindset of the world,
this is incomprehensible. How could
eating Jesus’ flesh give life? But Jesus
was talking about the flesh of His Word and the actions He was taking to give
us life that will not end. We remember
also, that Jesus is not just human but the Son of God the Father as well.
Obviously, this world is
full of trouble. Every day brings new
sorrows, more temptations to follow other gods, and more accusations against us
from people who do not know Jesus or the Father. However, our comfort and assurance remains
ever this, that Jesus knows those of us who believe in Him as our Savior and
Redeemer. Not only that, but because we
are now covered by Jesus and His righteousness, the Father in heaven claims us
as His own dearly loved children, and like the father of the prodigal son, God
the Father is looking forward to our return home in eager expectation. In fact, Paul tells us, “Creation is
waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed. For creation was subjected to futility, not by
its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that
even creation itself will be set free from slavery to corruption, in order to
share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19-21)
Dear friends, Jesus once
told His disciples, “In this world you are going to have trouble. But be courageous! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) There is never a day in this life that can
compare to what we have waiting for us in heaven. Here, we have sorrow and pain. Here, the devil and the world continue to try
to deceive and accuse us. Here, there is
a continual struggle to maintain even our physical lives as we eat our food by
the sweat of our brow with burdensome toil.
However, for those God calls home to His side in the mansions of heaven,
all of this conflict, stress, sorrow, and troublesome labor are behind them
forever, because for all eternity to come, The Lamb of God leads us in peace
and joy everlasting. Amen.
The
one who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment