All Things New

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Revelation 21:1-7

May 18, 2025

 “All Things New”

For many, the final book of Scripture, the book of Revelation, is filled with frightening images and confusing language. As a result, lots of people avoid this book altogether. That is unfortunate, but understandable, as many have twisted and misinterpreted this book. If we remember that the primary purpose of Revelation is to bring hope and encouragement to Christ’s people in their journey of faith, especially to those who are enduring persecution for the sake of Christ, that helps to put things into perspective. In the midst of suffering and tribulation, we hold fast to the truth that Jesus rules as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16). Throughout this Easter season, our Epistle lessons for worship have all been drawn from Revelation. Today, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, we focus on today’s Epistle lesson, looking especially at the gracious words of the Father spoken from his heavenly throne: “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). That becomes the theme for preaching, entitled, “All Things New.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

One of my sisters celebrated her birthday last week. She is older than me, and in our conversation she said, “I am blessed. But how is it even possible that I am now xx years old? Ughhh, I don’t want to get any older.” I think we can all relate to that feeling! I replied: “Yup – we’re all getting older. But like good wine, we improve with age.” We long for all things, ourselves included, to be made new. I think about this as we prepare for the renovation and expansion of our church facilities, when some things, if not all things, will be made new around here. I am so ready for this, and I hope you are as well. Lots of work is happening behind the scenes through our Renovation Project Task Force to prepare for this. In the Epistle lesson, we get a glimpse of that great day when all things will be made new; when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Right now, it can be very hard to understand and grasp this. So much of what we see in this life, so much of what comes to us in the daily news, is about bad news: injustice and corruption, violence and death. Without too much trouble, we can come to believe that this is how things have always been and this is how things will always be. But God sees things differently, and he calls us to see our lives and the world not only through the lens of today and its anxiety, uncertainty, and fear. The Lord God calls us to walk by faith in the midst of all these things, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, scorning the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2).

The truth of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, that we proclaim is that God comes down to us. It’s not about us going up to God, but about God coming down to us. Look at verse 2 in the text: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Beautiful imagery, and it speaks of that coming down. And then verse 3: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. That little word “dwell” (σκηνόω) is so very important. It takes us back to the Gospel for Christmas Day (John 1:1-14), which is all about how God came down to us in the Person of his own Son, who took on flesh and blood and was born of Mary in Bethlehem’s manger. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God’s coming down to us was to restore us to a right relationship with our Maker and Redeemer. This all came about through Jesus: his birth and life, his suffering, death and resurrection to redeem and restore us. God continues to come down to us today in Word and Sacrament, meeting us in all our need, providing forgiveness of sins, the promise of eternal life, and salvation for all who believe in him. It is here in these gifts of the God who comes down to us, that even now, this side of heaven, we are being made new.

What we experience now only in part, seeing through a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12), will give way to the day when we will see face to face, and the promise will become blessed reality, when God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Can we imagine such a life? Jesus, who is Immanuel, God-with-us (Matthew 1:23), is also God-for-us (Romans 8:31b). Because of Jesus’ Easter victory, even death cannot sever the relationship of grace and life that we have been given in Immanuel, God-with-us and God-for-us. And so we hold fast in faith to the Lord’s promise of the fulfillment of what is yet to be in the new Jerusalem where Christ will make all things new.

The challenge for us with in this now-but-not-yet time between Jesus’ first and second coming is that we want to know exactly what this is going to look like, and how it will all come together. We have a hard time not knowing and waiting. Today’s Epistle lesson is often chosen to be read at funerals and memorial services because it points us ahead to a future bright with resurrection promise and joy. In a world filled with tears, crying, pain, and death, all of these things will give way to a new creation where the Lord God is making all things new. How does all this work? We don’t know, and maybe that’s because we can’t know. Our finite brains, capable of so much, cannot grasp this. This is not a cop out or a blind obedience sort of thing, but a peaceful resting in our crucified and risen Savior. The day is coming when we will no longer walk by faith, but “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Take note of the hymns that we’ll sing at the distribution of the Lord’s Supper today. They all reflect of this blessed hope.

On that great and final day when what is yet to be is present before us, when all things are made new, then at last all of the nagging questions that gnaw at our faith in this life will fade away in the light and beauty of Christ who is risen, who is risen indeed. Thanks be to God. Amen.