Jesus Puts His Hand On the Humble and Obedient

“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:” (Revelations 1:17)

The apostle John had seen Jesus when he was on earth as a human many times, but this time was much like the time when he saw him transfigured on the mount (see Matt 17:1-8 and the previous post: “Jesus the Bright and Shining Light, the Sun of Righteousness“) This time again he was seeing him as he truly is: The Almighty creator of heaven and earth, the King of kings and Lord of lords. This true vision and understanding caused him to see his meager little existence before God and to quickly fall before him, even though he was an apostle of the Lord.

Notice what hand Jesus put on John – his right hand – the same one that has hold of the seven stars representing his control of the true ministry (see also again: “Jesus the Bright and Shining Light, the Sun of Righteousness“) Jesus was placing his right hand on John to show his approval for the one he had chosen to write and send the Revelation message to the church. This also shows us that the only ones that Jesus puts his right hand on are the ones who see themselves as nothing before Jesus and that have a humble attitude that Jesus can use for honoring him and not themselves.

To the humble and obedient he says “Fear not; I am the first and the last.” But to those who are religiously proud, or who still chase after sinful lusts, his words are: “Fear; for I am the first and the last!” Nothing really matters except how you look to Jesus, and how you present yourself before him!