I AM the Word

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) God created the universe in six days. One common thing that happened in each day was that he said “Let there be…” He said, “Let there be light…” and “Let there be an expanse between the waters…” and “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place…” Six times he spoke creation into existence. His words created. His words had power. His words brought life. God didn’t have to create people. He wasn’t obligated to, but he wanted to. He wanted people to be in relationship with him.

In Exodus 14, before the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the angel of God was before them. The scripture says that, “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them.” (Ex. 14:19) God himself came to protect the Israelites. He didn’t have to but he wanted to. He was intervening on behalf of his people. In speaking of the angel that went behind him, Paul said that the Israelites, “they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians. 10:4)

In Joshua we see how God’s word represented his faithfulness. He had made a promise to Moses in Deuteronomy 11:24, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours…” In Joshua 1:3, God reminded Joshua of this promise, “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” The rest of the book of Joshua is a demonstration of God’s faithfulness which came through the words of his promise. The words that he spoke to Moses weren’t just the sound of air vibrating his vocal cords. He was being faithful to his word and he wanted relationship with the Israelites.

God made numerous covenants with his people. He made a covenant with Noah not to destroy the earth with a flood again. He made a covenant with the Israelites on Mount Sinai through the law. He made a covenant with David to raise up offspring to him which we now know as Jesus. God said to King David, “He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:13) Each of those covenants involved his words of promise in which he would be faithful. Some of his covenants also pronounced judgment if the people did not obey. His words demonstrated that he was not a God who was distant, who didn’t want to get involved. He wanted them to see that through fellowship with him their lives and generations after them would have purpose.

When I started college I went to a christian group meeting once per week while I was there. Each week a student would give a devotional, something simple from the Bible that they would share with the group. One meeting a girl brought a bunch of devotional booklets, Our Daily Bread. She challenged everyone to read one devotional each day. I took her up on it. I never read the Bible before other than Sunday school or Sunday church. I was determined to get it done. I had no clue as to what God was going to do with that. I sensed that something was going on inside of me when I was reading his word, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. I wanted more, so I started reading the Bible cover-to-cover. I gave up a few times, but by the time I got to State I had developed a habit of reading it. I began realizing that God was really trying to say something to me. The Bible wasn’t just words on a page anymore. I finally was able to find God’s forgiveness through all that. God wasn’t distant like I thought. Well, in one sense he was distant because my sin had separated me from him. But he did want to be involved. Even though I was separated from him, his arm wasn’t so short that it couldn’t save me.

As we move forward in the Old Testament, the people of Israel had been exiled, many of which went to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel was in Babylon. It was there that he prophesied God’s words to the people of Israel, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30) God was searching. He wanted someone, anyone, to be involved in the restoration of his people. He wasn’t sitting back in his recliner hoping that someone would come to his door. He was actively seeking. About 120 years later we read about a man named Nehemiah. Undoubtedly, Nehemiah had heard about God’s desire through Ezekiel. We read in the book of Nehemiah that he heard about the condition of the wall around Jerusalem and the people were experiencing great trouble and shame. God’s desire, along with the situation of the people, gripped his heart. He knew he had to do something. He administrated the rebuilding of the wall. And with the help of Ezra, reinstituted God’s word to the people of Israel so that they would turn back to him.

Somewhere in my last year of college I went to a conference. I had been wrestling with the idea of going into full-time ministry with my church. At this conference someone spoke about Ezekiel 22:30. He was encouraging us to consider ourselves as someone who could stand in the gap for people…to be someone God could use to reach people for Christ. I kept thinking about that. I woke up in the night and couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I started reading the first few chapters of Nehemiah. When I finished the thought struck me that no where in this story does it say that God told Nehemiah to rebuild the wall. I was wondering if God was trying to speak to me about my decision to go into ministry as a job. I didn’t feel like I was anything special. Surely God would rather use someone else who was more gifted or a had a better personality. Nehemiah wasn’t a prophet or a priest. He wasn’t someone that would have been seen as a great deliverer. A few days later, I was at our Sunday church meeting back in Raleigh. One of the pastors, Berk, was teaching. I perked up because he was teaching from the book of Nehemiah. As he was teaching, he said something that I remember word-for-word 25 years later. He said, “Nowhere in this story does it say that God told Nehemiah to rebuild the wall.” At that moment, I knew God was speaking directly to me. I already knew that God desired for the nations to be reached with the gospel and to make disciples. I knew that I could have gotten a forestry job and still pursued God’s will. But, I had shared God’s word with a lot of people over the previous few years. I liked the thought of being in a job where I could focus on teaching and have more time to disciple students. If it didn’t work out after a couple years, then I could move on and do something else as a career.

You see, God had spoken. He already made his will to be known to all the people of Israel, not just to Nehemiah. It wasn’t a mystery as to what God wanted. He already communicated it with very clear words. It was Nehemiah who recognized that God wasn’t just speaking to all the other people. God was speaking to him. When you look back throughout the scriptures this is one of the great qualities of those who do great things for God. They recognized that God exists, that he has spoken, and that he is speaking today, to them in particular. God has spoken to us through his word. It’s not just rules in a book, it’s God demonstrating his existence and communicating with each of us directly. Just because 120 years had passed since God declared his will in Ezekiel, it didn’t mean that God’s will had changed any. Just because Jesus spoke over 2000 years ago doesn’t mean that his will has diminished any either.

The rest of the Old Testament is fill with examples of God speaking about intervening, God speaking about fellowship, God speaking about judgment, God speaking about hope. Then there was 400 years of silence. No new prophecies were made. But, he wasn’t done speaking. In Hebrews it says, “1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

In John 1:1-3, John states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” As you read the rest of the chapter you will see that Jesus is the “word”. In the Greek culture the word “logos” was used as a title given to the impersonal creative force. This intelligent force was involved in bringing order to the universe. It was the source of knowledge, wisdom and intelligence as well. This is how they could reason that there could be order in the universe without embracing a God that they were accountable to. So, when John used the word “logos” his readers would understand what he was talking about. Instead of “logos” being impersonal, John begins to share what God is truly like. Listen to how he describes God:

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” - John 1:11

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” - John 1:12

“The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” - John 1:14

Jesus had come to intervene, bringing salvation to all people. He came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:11). He came to bring hope, but those who rejected him found themselves in judgment. He came speaking. His words had life. In John 1:12, notice that it doesn’t say that those who received his teachings became children of God. It’s those who received him that can become children of God.

As I was thinking about this message I was reminded that I don’t need to just spend time in the word. I need to spend time with the word. What do you believe? Do you believe that God exists? Do you believe that he has spoken? Do you believe that he is still speaking to you? This is part of the great hope of Christians. We believe that all these things are a “yes”. Before I came to Christ I had no clue that God was still speaking. I felt pretty certain there was a God and that he had spoken to people at some time in history. But I felt that he went silent, especially for me. It wasn’t until I started reading the Bible for myself that I started experiencing strange, new things happening. I began to be convicted for my sin. The death and resurrection of Jesus became more of a reality to me. Christian friends were sharing with me the same verses I had read earlier that day. I gained more and more glimpses of a personal God that was wanting to speak with me.

In a couple minutes we’ll have a time for sharing. I want to ask you two questions for you to think about:

What has been helpful for you in meeting with the word over the past month or so? In other words, have you changed a habit or heart attitude that has led God to speak to you? Have you continued having a certain habit or heart attitude that has kept you in communication with the word?

What is one simple thing you can pass on to someone over the next week or in order to encourage them to meet with the word as you have been doing?

I AM the Root and the Bright Morning Star

Welcome! Today we continue our I AM series, where we seek to deepen our understanding of the I AM statements of Jesus. This is our next-to-last message in this series; next week, we will look at the statement of Jesus as being The Word.

Today’s I AM statement comes from Revelation chapter 22, the final chapter of the Bible:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” – Rev. 22:16

This verse is kind of a two-for-one deal, as we have two titles of Jesus: First, the Root and the Offspring of David, and second, the bright Morning Star.

Let’s start with the first title. I am the Root and the Offspring of David. The root is something that comes before; the offspring is something that comes after. How can this be?

We of course know the answer – Jesus is God; He is eternal. He is the Messiah. The issue of Jesus’ identity was the core issue that led to His crucifixion. The Jewish leaders had been jealous of Jesus for some time, but this hatred grew to a fever pitch when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I want to read the account of Jesus’ entry from Matthew, along with what happened immediately after this. Notice how these are all connected, how the people treat Jesus, and how the leaders respond. This is from Matthew 21.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” – Matt. 21:6-11

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” – Matt. 21:12-13

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things He did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do You hear what these children are saying?” they asked Him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants You, Lord, have called forth Your praise’?” – Matt. 21:14-16

“Your” praise. Jesus is clearly identifying Himself as the Messiah, but He is also identifying Himself as God, as the object of worship. “Hosanna” in the original Hebrew meant, “Please, save us!” and this was contained in the idea, but it was more than a prayer for salvation – it was an expression of adoration and worship. Hosannas to anyone but God would have been considered idolatry.

This brings me back to my question: How can Jesus be the Root and the Offspring of David, one that follows after David but yet one that comes before? Again, our answer is that Jesus is the Eternal God, one of three Persons in the Trinity of God. But the Pharisees and priests are not ready to hear this.

Jesus presents this question to the Pharisees in Jerusalem during his final few days before the crucifixion, shortly after the events we have just read. The account is found in Matthew, Luke and Mark. We will continue on in Matthew, in Chapter 22.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. – Matt. 22:41-42

This is just the start. The Pharisees seemingly give this answer together, as it is obvious. And to them it was obvious. But they thought it meant that the Messiah was only the offspring of David, not the Root. But the thing is, when you look at the passages describing the Messiah as the offspring of David, it becomes obvious that He is far more than just a man. For example, look at this passage from Isaiah 11:

A Shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears; but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist. – Is. 11:1-5

Jesse was David’s immediate father. And so this passage shows that this messiah figure will indeed come after David. Jesse is referred to a stump because of the context of Isaiah – one of his main themes of Isaiah is that Judah and Jerusalem will finally fall as a result of their ongoing sin and disregard for the Lord. The promised land will be taken away from them! David, the son of Jesse, was the one who had at last taken Israel from her various enemies. The Jews understood Messiah would be one who took it back again, a kind of “second” David, and so the term “the son of David” meant more than just genealogy, although it meant that too. It meant that the Messiah would do what David had done.

The passage is encouraging: out of this stump of Jesse, out of the fallen line of kings who did not serve God and sinned greatly, after the great fall of Israel and of Judah, would come a Branch, or Shoot, one that would bear fruit. The description is of the Messiah, the one on whom the Spirit would rest, a sneak preview of Jesus’ baptism when the Spirit, in the form of a dove, rests on Jesus, and God says, “This is My Son, whom I love.” And the passage describes the Messiah as judge – a good judge, a righteous judge, and a judge who also metes out punishment upon the wicked. And note that He is described as far more than human – it says that with just His breath, He would slay the wicked. Whether this was meant to be taken literally or figuratively (the latter, I’m sure the Pharisees thought), it meant that the Messiah had power far beyond that of a mere man.

Here is another passage on the Messiah, Son of David:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David [from David’s line] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior. – Jer. 23:5-6

Again, this Messiah figure comes from David, again He is called a Branch, again He is King. And again, He is more than a man – He is described as Lord – a term reserved for God – and as Savior, together a title more than worthy of Hosannas. It is obvious to us that this refers to Jesus. The Jewish leaders should have seen this as well – they knew these passages! Indeed, the Pharisees were experts in Scripture – or to be more precise, they were experts in reading and discussing Scripture. On the other hand, following it, obeying it, repenting as it pointed out their sins, not so much. But they knew what the Scripture said.

There are many other passages we could consider but let us go on with the account of Jesus in Matt. 22. Recall that Jesus asked the Pharisees what they thought about the Messiah, and whose son He was. They replied that He was the Son of David. Here is how the passage continues:

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions. – Matt. 22:43-46

How could David’s son be David’s Lord? The Pharisees immediately knew the passage that Jesus was quoting. This comes from Psalm 110. This is a Psalm “of David.” Let’s read from it:

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” The Lord will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, Your young men will come to You like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at Your right hand; He will crush kings on the day of His wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. – Ps. 110:1-6

David calls this future son of David, his Lord! And there is no question that David is talking about the Messiah. We see the same kind of holy battle scene that we saw in our earlier passages today. And he is called a priest. A king that is also a priest? That goes against the Law of Moses. But preceding the Law of Moses we see the example of Melchizedek, a king who is also serving as a priest, one to whom Abraham gave an offering or tribute. Note again that the Messiah figure is more than a man. Not only does He transcend the Law of Moses, being a warrior, king, and priest, but He is a priest forever; that is, He is eternal. The Jewish leaders, and the priests in particular, probably didn’t like to think about this Psalm. It said that there was a priest who would serve as priest forever. The implication was that the present priesthood, the ancient priesthood that went all the way back to the time of Moses, was, in contrast, temporary. It was indeed more temporary than they realized, as the whole thing would end a few decades later, in AD 70.

And so we see that the idea that Jesus is the Root and Offspring of David was not really a new concept in Revelation. We see Jesus explaining this to the Jewish leaders shortly before the Crucifixion, but the idea is actually spelled out in the later prophets and even goes back to David’s own writings. The very title that the Jewish leaders rejected, should be one that we, as believers, rejoice in. We should want to join in with the children shouting Hosanna’s to our Savior, King, and God.

I want to point out that the Isaiah and Jeremiah passages we looked at today (Is. 11:1-5 and Jer. 23:5-6) specifically call the Messiah a branch, or, equivalently, shoot, a word that can also be described as offspring, but which means much more. In the Is. 11 passage, the word used is Netzer, a word closely tied to Nazareth! And Jesus is called the Nazarene, for He grew up in Nazareth.

Here is another passage that describes Jesus as the Branch:

“‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. – Zech. 3:8-9

Again, the Messiah figure The “stone” is likely Jesus, elsewhere called the “cornerstone” who is described as having seven eyes in Rev. 5:

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” - Rev. 5:6-10

And so the Messiah in Zehariah is called the Servant, and the Branch, and the Stone, which I think is meant to be reference to the Cornerstone. And indeed, God did remove the sin of the land in a single day, when Jesus went to the cross for our sins.

The “branch,” or offspring, is also used in Zech. 6:

‘Here is the Man whose name is the Branch, and He will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on His throne. And He will be a priest on His throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ – Zech. 6:12b-13

Again, we see the term the Branch, and we see the joint roles of king and priest. I believe that “The Temple of the Lord” is not primarily referring to a physical Temple, but instead to the church universal, to the body of believers who have given themselves to Him and follow Him. Through them He indeed “branches out from his place” and salvation goes from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and then to all the ends of the earth.

I could say much more, but we have a second title of Jesus to investigate. Here again is our opening passage from Rev. 22:

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” – Rev. 22:16

What does it mean that Jesus is the Bright Morning Star? Astronomically speaking, the morning star refers to Venus, the brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon. Venus always appears in the east before sunrise, or west after sunset. It never appears overhead at midnight. At present, Venus rises at 6:09 am, reaches its peak at 1:03 pm (when it is not visible, due to the sun shining and overpowering it), and sets at 7:58 pm. The sun presently rises at 6:21 am (12 minutes after Venus rises) and sets at 8:28 pm (30 minutes after Venus sets, meaning that Venus’ morning rising is much more visible than its evening setting at present).

Again, I want to look at some Old Testament passages referring to the “star of the morning.” Our first passage is from Isaiah 14:

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. – Is. 14:12-20

Is this referring to Jesus? Certainly not! This is Lucifer, who is said elsewhere to appear as an angel of light. But isn’t Jesus the bright morning star? Yes. Jesus is the true bright morning star. Satan, always the great imitator of Jesus, imitates Christ in this way (and does so quite poorly, I might add).

“Morning stars” can be symbolic of heavenly beings (and recall that Lucifer was an angel). Job 38 gives us this description of creation (God is talking):

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? – Job 38:4-7

In one of Balaam’s prophecies, he refers to the Messiah coming at a future time, and uses “star” symbolism to do this. From Numbers 24:

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. – Num. 24:17a

That Jesus is associated with a star is demonstrated by the star that the Magi followed to see the baby Jesus. From Matt. 2:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” – Matt. 2:1-2

But what is the meaning behind Jesus as the Bright Morning Star? Why is this one of His titles? The answer is in the verse immediately after this verse in Revelation. Here it is, with the verse we have been looking at this morning:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” – Rev. 22:16-17a

Let us say it now: Come! The Bright Morning Star is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ coming. When does the star come? In the morning, when it is still dark. But its coming tells you that night is over, and the day begins. Spiritually speaking, we are currently in the night. But when Jesus, the Bright Morning Star comes, we know that day is upon us, that the reign of Satan on earth is over, and that an eternity with Christ in the New Heavens and the New Earth awaits us. He is indeed the Bright Morning Star.

Now I want to finish today by going back to the idea of Jesus as the Root. Now trees and plants have multiple kinds of root systems. The kind you are probably most familiar with is when roots are isolated to each plant, and the plant spreads through seeds that grow up new, independent plants. Think of carrots, for example – you can pull up one carrot from your garden without all of the other carrots coming up with them.

Now, the Greek word for root is riza, and although the word is used figuratively and literally in a variety of ways in Scripture, from a botanical point of view, going all the way back to the Greek, the word riza referred to a root system that is not independent, but instead, interdependent. And today, in botany we use the word rhizome, which comes from that root word (pun intended) riza.

What is a rhizome? A rhizome looks like a root, as it is a part of a plant that is underground, but more precisely, it is a subterranean plant stem. Unlike true roots, which grow vertically, deeper and deeper into the earth, rhizomes grow horizontally, maintaining a fixed depth. In plants that have rhizomes, true roots grow down from the rhizome, and shoots grow up from it, breaking the surface, and giving the appearance of being independent plants. But the plants are not independent; they remain connected via the rhizome.

Some rhizomes are edible; ginger is an example of a rhizome that we eat. Another example is the horseradish that we ate together during the Passover service a few weeks ago. For the casual gardener, rhizomes may not be your friend, because they spread underground and are both difficult to contain and difficult to eliminate. We had a beautiful flowering cherry tree at our house but had to cut it down because as its roots grew it became a danger to the foundations of our house. But underground it created an extremely dense mat of material that not only still sends up shoots years later, but also makes it difficult for anything else to grow. Blackberry bushes also have rhizomes, and we have found them able to travel under our driveway and pop up in our lawn. Crepe myrtles are also rhizomes, and although we have never planted any at our house, we have them now thanks to the wandering rhizomes from our neighbors’ plants. In terms of their ability to spread, perhaps the most impressive rhizomes are bamboo and aspens. We are all familiar with bamboo, but aspens maybe less so, as they don’t grow here. But in Colorado and surrounding states, entire aspen forests are connected through their rhizomes. And some of these aspen rhizome root systems are known to be thousands of years old. If you are looking for a Biblical example, look at the olive tree. Why are they in groves? Because olive trees also have rhizomes.

Plants connected by rhizomes share nutrients and therefore are better able to withstand drought. And rhizomes also protect plants from forest fires. The upper matter, the visible part of trees and plants, may burn, but the rhizomes are protected, and new plants shoot up from them a short time after the fire has ended.

I think rhizomes are a powerful symbol of our collective relationship with Jesus. A plant is connected to other plants via the rhizomes; in the same way, believers in a community are connected to one other – and to Jesus Himself – via Jesus, our rhizome. A plant has resilience and energy stores that are not apparent because they are fed and strengthened in and through the rhizomes; in the same way, believers have resilience and power that are not from or in themselves, but through and in Christ. And a mature plant may appear to only be a few decades old, but in fact its rhizome may have been around for centuries or millennia; in the same way, those who are in Christ are not only connected to Jesus the Incarnate one, but they are also connected to Jesus who was present at the creation of the Universe.

And with that, let us look at our main passage one last time:

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” – Rev. 22:16-17a

Come, Lord Jesus!

I AM the Bridegroom

Good morning saints and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers here in the church today as well as those listening in on our ZOOM broadcast. Today we continue our series titled I AM. Now we began this I AM series back in February with the I Am the Bread of Life. Then we continued the series with "I AM the Light of the World", followed by "I AM the Door of the Sheep"; "I AM the Good Shepherd"; "I AM the Resurrection and the Life"; "I AM the Way the Truth and the Life"; "I AM the Vine"; "I AM the Lamb of God"; "I AM The Word" and last week John covered the "I AM the Alpha and Omega".

Now these are all metaphors. They were all chosen by God to reveal to us one or more particular dimensions of His Character of love for His Chosen People.

Today we are going to look at the I Am the Bridegroom metaphor. Now I looked for the earliest reference of the I Am being the Bridegroom and found it in the second chapter of the Book of the prophet Hosea. Now Hosea’s ministry is dated c. 755 to 710 BC. Hosea, whose name means Salvation, ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel was also called Ephraim, after the largest tribe of Israel. Actually Ephraim was just a half tribe. If you recall Ephraim was the youngest of Joseph’s two son.

16 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my Husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master (translated also as Baal). 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. 18 In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. - Hosea 2:16-18

Now the Hebrew word “master” here is also translated Baal. It means owner or lord. It came to be applied to their gods that they worshipped and served. In the context it is the name of these gods that were on their lips. But the I Am here says that these names will no longer be on their lips in that day. When is that day going to occur? Well no one knows exactly except God because the in that day is a reference to the end times. In the context of Chapter 1 of Hosea verses 10 and 11 the bride is Israel and Judah reunited.

10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. - Hosea 1:10-11

Now in reference to the Bride being Judah and Israel reunited He says:

19 I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. 20 I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. - Hosea 2:19-20

The apostle Paul uses this same betrothal metaphor in the New Testament to describe the relationship to Christ and the Church in 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 through 3.

1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. - 2nd Cor. 1:1-3 NASB

Jumping back to Hosea chapter 2 we read:

21 “In that day I will respond,” declares the LORD—“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; 22 and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel (now here the word Jezreel in Hebrew means God Plants ) 23 I will plant her for Myself in the land; I will show My love to the one I called ‘Not My loved one’. I will say to those called ‘Not My people’, ‘You are My people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” - Hosea 2:21-23

Now the Lord tells the prophet Hosea to go back to his adulterous wife. And Hosea records His words as follows:

1 The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley (a lethek is about 10 bushels). 3 Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will wait for you.” 4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His blessings in the last days. - Hosea 3:1-5

Here the Lord explains that Israel’s return is going to take place in the last days. He says He will wait for them to return. So He has been waiting more than 2700 years and He is still waiting. Now about this waiting for the last days Peter tells us the following in 2 Peter chapter 3 beginning in verse 8:

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. - 2nd Peter 3:8-13

I shared verse 9 with a Jewish man who goes by the name of Stu which is short for his first name Stuart when he asked me why God allowed all the deaths of the Jewish people to occur in World War II and that are still occurring in Israel to this day. His response to the verse I shared was in the form of another question. He said “What’s He waiting for?” My reply after quoting the verse from memory again was “Perhaps he is waiting for you to believe in Him. Have you ever thought that you may be the hold up of His return?”

Not everyone is going to come to the wedding feast that was invited but the Bridegroom is going to wait until all who are going to believe and put their trust in Him have done so before He returns. Now Stu isn’t there yet but he might be close. Please pray for Stu and others that you know who are not saved yet, to come to the saving knowledge of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus’ Salvation before it is too late and the door of opportunity for him to get saved is shut permanently. Who knows, in doing so you might speed up the coming of the day of the Lord like Peter says in 2nd Peter 3 verse 12.

Now the next reference of the I Am the Bridegroom in the Old Testament is in the Book of Isaiah chapter 62 verse 5. Now just as the prophet Hosea was ministering to the Northern Kingdom, the prophet Isaiah was ministering to the tribe of Judah in the Southern Kingdom. Now the time period for the book of Isaiah is from 740-701 BC. Thus the book of Isaiah was written relatively around the same time period as the book of Hosea. Since Hosea’s bridegroom prophesy involves both Hosea’s Northern Kingdom and Judah’s Southern Kingdom being reunited, you would expect that the prophet of the southern Kingdom would also prophesy something in regards to the bridegroom. Sure enough He does. In Isaiah chapter 62 Isaiah writes:

5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. 6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. - Isaiah 62:5-7

Again the I Am Bridegroom is waiting since Jerusalem is not yet been made the praise of the earth yet. Now while He is waiting here with Isaiah let’s fast forward 735 years from around 701 BC to 34 AD.

Then came John the Baptist as prophesied to make ready the way of the Lord. And John the Baptist prophesies about the you guessed it “the Bridegroom” as recorded in the Gospel of John chapter 3 verse 29. Starting in verse 26 of this chapter John records the following:

26 They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” 27 To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of Him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less. - John 3:26-30

Now Jesus actually refers to Himself indirectly as the bridegroom in the book of Matthew chapter 9 verse 15.

14 Then John’s disciples came and asked Him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. - Matthew 9:14-15

Now Jesus also refers to Himself indirectly as the bridegroom in the book of Mark chapter 2 verses 19 and 20. This may be a reference to the same event recorded in Matthew 9 verse 14 and 15 and just worded a little differently or it may be a different event but with a similar question that Jesus answered on another occasion.

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” 19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? They cannot, so long as they have Him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. - Mark 2:18-20

Now Jesus also uses the bridegroom analogy in the parable of the ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom as recorded in Matthew 25 verses 1-10.

1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with Him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. - Matthew 25:1-10

In this parable Jesus explains that not everyone will be ready when the bridegroom comes. However, the wedding still takes place without those who were not ready. The door is shut they are left outside.

I’m told in that in the Hebrew culture of that time period, following the betrothal it was customary for the Jewish bridegroom to go and prepare a place for the bride. This place was usually in a room either in or annexed to the bridegroom parent’s home. Jesus alludes to Himself being the bridegroom metaphor in John chapter 14 verses 1 through 3 when He says:

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:1-3

Reference to this wedding metaphor was also made in the book of Revelations chapter 19 verse 6 through 9 but here it is not in a parable it is a vision of the future as revealed to the apostle John. Starting in verse 6 the description of this vision of the future as revealed to the apostle John reads as follows:

6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” - Revelations 19:6-9

So these are the reference of the I Am being the Bridegroom and Judah reunited with Israel being the Bride which God expanded to include the saved Gentiles in Isaiah 49 verse 5 and 6 when He says:

5 And now the LORD says He who formed me in the womb to be His servant to bring Jacob back to Him and gather Israel to Himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and My God has been My strength 6 He says: “It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” - Isaiah 49:5-6

Here the Lord is speaking of the Gentile Church of believers. The apostle Paul alludes to this in chapter 5 of his letter to the Ephesians where he says:

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. - Ephesians 5:22-27

There are a couple of other references to the I Am being the bridegroom. In these the City of Jerusalem is referred to as the bride and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them here. So I will. However, before I do, I want to explain that the united Judah and Israel and the Gentile Church and the City of Jerusalem metaphors being the bride can all be true at the same time since they are all metaphors used by God to reveal to us one or more particular dimensions of His Character of love for His Chosen People. So for completeness sake the references to the city of Jerusalem metaphors being the Bride are recorded in Revelations 21 verse 2 and in verses 9 and 10. Revelations 21 verse 2 reads as follows:

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. - Revelations 21:2

Note the reference to the Bride beautifully dressed for her husband is referring to the Bridegroom.

Revelations 21 verse 9 reads as follows:

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. - Revelations 21:9-10

Note the bride, the wife of the Lamb here alludes to Christ the Lamb of God being her husband the Bridegroom.

Now I want to close today’s message by recalling Peter’s instructions to the Saints and to us that I shared earlier. Peter says in 2nd Peter chapter 3 starting in verse 11 the following:

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. - 2nd Peter 3:11-13

Remember you can speed the bridegrooms coming because this passage is inspired by the Holy Spirit who is God and He can’t lie.

Let’s Pray!

Next week Carl will finish up our I AM Series with the I AM the Root and I AM the Bright Morning Star.