Sermon Thesis: Jesus as the Alpha and the Omega.
Sermon Texts: Revelation 1:8; Revelation 22:12-13; Colossians 3:1-4
Today we wrap up our Knowing Jesus series by looking at one final name for Jesus that we find in the Scriptures. This one comes directly from Jesus Himself: He says that He is the Alpha and the Omega. That’s a little different than some of the other titles we’ve talked about like “Son of God” or “Lord” or “Messiah.” What does Jesus mean when He refers to Himself as the Alpha and the Omega?
The book of Revelation is bookended by these statements from Jesus.
Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 22:12-13
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek Alphabet. You find this phrase in other Greek writings from long ago. It was used as a way of saying that something was complete or comprehensive. The phrase is basically shorthand for the entire alphabet. It would be like saying something like, “She has everything planned out from A to Z.” Same idea.
When Jesus says that He is the Alpha and Omega, it’s another way of saying that He rules over everything. He has it covered from A to Z.
- Jesus refers to Himself as the one who was and is and is to come. That’s saying that He is the supreme ruler over time — the past, the present, and the future.
- He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. There is nothing beyond the scope of His authority. There’s nothing you can bring Him that He cannot handle. You’re never beyond the reach of His grace. And you’ll never grow to the point that you don’t need Him to rule over your life.
- This statement is as all-encompassing as they come: Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the One who was and is and is to come.
Alpha and Omega, from A to Z. Apply that to your life. When I recognize Jesus in all the ways we’ve discussed in this series, I’m putting Him in a position of authority over EVERY ASPECT of my life.
He was and is and is to come. If He is truly sovereign over all time, then this means that He is sovereign over my past, my present and my future. Just let that sink in for a minute:
- When we think about the things we’ve done in the past, all of our sins and failures and mistakes, our hearts can so easily be filled with regret and shame.
- And when we think about the future, it’s so easy to go to that place of anxiety and fear because we don’t know what the future might hold.
- And then right here in the present we are often overwhelmed with things like disappointment and doubt and the daily aggravations of life.
But when Jesus says that He is the Alpha and the Omega, He’s saying that He has control of all of that.
- When I come to know Him, He reigns over my past by setting me free from that shame and that regret. He helps me see that I’m not defined by my past mistakes — He’s saved me from those sins and given me a new identity.
- And He reigns over my future as well. He makes promises to counter all of those anxieties and fears — promising me an eternally safe dwelling place with Him.
- And if He reigns over my past and my future, how much more so does He reign over today, this present moment! And He makes Himself available to us — really present with us — as we face whatever today might hold for us.
Jesus as Alpha and Omega sounds a bit odd to our ears — because we don’t speak Greek and because it comes from the book of Revelation, which intimidates us. But it’s one of the most practical ideas in the entire Bible. From the heights to the depths, from start to finish, from the good to the bad and at all points in between, Jesus is sovereign. He reigns. He’s in control. It’s all about Jesus — it always has been and it always will be.
He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
- The Jews sought to honor God by reciting the Shema twice each day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The Shema is Deuteronomy 6:4-5,Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
- They believed the best time to recite the morning Shema was in the moment just before sunrise. If you couldn’t do that, the sages said that you should pray the morning Shema as soon as you wake up.
- And they taught that you should say the Shema right before going to bed. It was recited as protection so that the Jewish people would go to sleep with the word of God on their lips.
- I’m afraid that in our effort to not be legalistic we’ve swung the pendulum too far the other way. Sure, some disciplines can become rote and legalistic — but spiritual disciplines also bring us into richer communion with God.
- I love the idea of beginning my day and ending my day with God. That’s such a good way to give Him the firstfruits of your day and to give Him your final moments before you drift off to sleep. And it’s consistent with this teaching that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.
Jesus is a part of your life vs. Jesus is your whole life
Sometimes the Gospel is presented in a way as if it’s just adding one final piece to your otherwise wonderful life. “Make Jesus a part of your life.” That’s a very American way of proclaiming the Gospel. We think of our “spiritual life” as just one component of our lives: our financial lives, our personal lives, our professional lives, our spiritual lives.
But that’s not the way it works. Jesus is not content with being just a part of your life. If Jesus is your Lord, then He becomes your whole life. He IS your life. That’s the way Paul says it in Colossians 3.
Colossians 3:1-4
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Alpha and Omega means He has sovereign control over every part of your life. That means you give up the right to say “No” to Jesus. You cede control to Him in every area of life. He calls the shots from A to Z:
- If He is your Lord, then He is lord of your finances.
- He is the Lord of your relationships and your sex life and your thought life.
- He controls your attitude and your dreams and your regrets — all of it.
- Even down to the small things — the things that we think are insignificant. There is no part of your life that is off limits to Him. He’s welcome everywhere because He’s the Lord of it all.
Here’s what it means for Jesus to be the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and end. He becomes my life, my whole life, from A to Z:
A – He is the absolute authority in all areas: my attitude, my afflictions, my anxiety, my anger. My Almighty ambassador is always above me, ahead of me, and all around me. And His Agape love is all I need anywhere and anytime.
B – He is the God over my baggage, my body, my behavior. He bears my burdens in baptism and I become His beautiful bride. It boggles my brain that because of His blood my bonds are broken and I am bereft of blame.
C – He is the Christ, the crown with a capital C. I am called by His cadence to come and commit to the cause, to cast my cares in exchange for His certain compassion and comfort. My champion challenges me to change, to choose to chuck the sinful chains that choke and chafe. He calls me to carry my cross and to celebrate in communion.
D – His decrees are my deepest desires. He is the God over my dreams and my drives, my distresses and my doubts, my do’s and my don’ts. He defeats death, He decimates darkness, He defends me from danger and delivers me from damnation. He decides my destiny and determines my days.
E – He is my everything, from everlasting to everlasting, the God of my everyday ethics who educates my ego. His embrace is encouraging and eternity is His especially epic and extraordinary encore.
F – He is faithful in the face of all my failures, my faults, my filth and my fears. I fervently feel the favor of His fellowship. He is fiery and fierce but He is my friend and I’ll follow Him to the finish.
G – My great God graciously gives good gifts. I can’t wait to get a glimpse of His glory.
H – He is holy, my Helper and my Hero. He habitually holds my heart in His hands and heralds the hope of heaven as my home.
I – Jesus is the image of the invisible God. I find His invitation irresistible. My imperfections are never an imposition to the immortal One who is the most important One in my life.
J – My God is jealous but joyous. He joins me in my journey, His judgments are just.
K – He is the King of kindness.
L – He is the Lord of light who leads me to the land of the living, the long suffering Lamb who lays down His life so that I might be liberated, the Lifter of my head who listens in love.
M – He is the Master who mends my mind, my Model whose meditations are merciful, my Maker whom I magnify. I am a miscreant who misses the mark. I maliciously malign His moral mandates. But my mistakes make up the measure of His mission. Where I am messy, He is mighty. His ministry is miraculous. He is my matchless, magnificent, majestic Messiah.
N – The noble Nazarene was nailed up naked to neutralize my narcissism. He makes all things new: new beginnings, new creation.
O – He is the object of my observation, the only One who can save me from the obscenity of my offenses and the oppression of my opponent. I ought to be oriented around His oracles because He forgives me over and over and over again.
P – He is my Prince of Peace who promises me a permanent place of provision and protection. He paid the price for my propitiation, He is passionate about His plan for my prospering, He is patient in my pleading and my pain. I will persistently profess my praise for His powerful presence.
Q – He is my God of great quality and great quantity.
R – He redeems me, renews me, reconciles me, recreates me. He gave His life as a ransom in order that I might be recovered. He rules in righteousness and He requires radical repentance to rescind my rebellion. He is risen and He reigns over me in royalty.
S – He is the Savior of my sinful soul. He shatters my shackles and shreds the shroud of my shame. He shields me with shelter and shows me what I should do. His singular sacrifice is my song and my sacrament. He seeks and saves, serves and sends. Nothing can separate me from the security of His salvation because I am safely sealed with the Spirit.
T – He testifies to the truth and He tenderly touches my tears. He tames my temptations and transforms my troubles. He turns trash into treasure. He was tried at the tree but He triumphed at the tomb. Thoroughly I thank Him for thwarting evil on the third day. He is my trusted teacher, my today, and my tomorrow.
U – He understands me ultimately, even when I am unruly. Under His umbrella I am unafraid, united with Him to the utmost. I am unashamed of my unrivaled and utterly unique Jesus.
V – He is the God of my vocation and my vacation. He values me and vanquishes my enemy. His voluntary visitation ended victoriously.
W – He watches over my wishes and my worries, my worship and my work, my wins and my wilderness wanderings. He is the God of my will’s and my won’ts, my when’s and my where’s. He is my whole world.
X – He is even the Lord over all the xtra places I want to keep for myself. He reigns there, too.
Y – In Him, all of God’s promises are “Yes.” I yield to Yahweh whose yoke is easy.
Z – And I am zealous for the One who zeroes out my sin.
This is what it means for Jesus to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end. From A to Z, my life is built upon Him and Him alone.
It reminds me of the simple words of the song called “Jesus in the Morning.”
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus in the morning
Jesus at the noontime
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus when the sun goes down
Praise Him
Love Him
Serve Him
Invitation: In the name of Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Lord who makes all things new, he who has ears let him hear.
Discussion Questions:
- How have you come to know Jesus lately? What are you learning about Him or hearing from Him recently?
- Today’s message focused on Jesus as “the Alpha and the Omega.” These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. What significance does this hold for us? If someone said, “Jesus has it covered from A to Z,” what would that mean to you?
- Read Revelation 1:8 and 22:12-13. What stands out to you about these passages?
- In Revelation 1:8, Jesus says that He is the One “who is and was and is to come.” Is Jesus saying that He is sovereign over time? If so, what are the implications for our past? Our present? Our future?
- Read Hebrews 12:1-2. What does it mean when the text calls Jesus “the author and perfecter of our faith?” (Your translation may use different words for this sentence.)
- By claiming to be the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus states His sovereign lordship over every area of life. Is there an area of your life that you find difficult to submit to the lordship of Jesus? Can you think back to a time when you experienced a blessing from giving Jesus control of an area of your life, even if you were reluctant or fearful to do so at first?
- In the sermon Jason made a distinction between making Jesus a part of your life vs. making Jesus your whole life. What is the difference between these two ideas?
- Read Colossians 3:1-4. What does it mean when it refers to Jesus as “Christ who is your life?”
- Read the words of Jesus in Luke 6:46-49. What does this passage teach us about the lordship of Jesus?
- Close by sharing some prayer time together.
already & not yet 