Revelation 3:19-20 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Before us are some of the final words of the Lord Jesus Christ; “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (vs.14). Unlike the scene in Mark 8 where we have men telling what they think; here we have the Master telling what He knows! It is a descriptive portrait of Himself revealing that there’s none like Him!
In the first brush stroke, He detailed His passion, “I love.” The word He used for “love” means to be a friend so as to have affection for, denoting personal attachment. The Irish immigrant, Joseph Scriven must have seen the portrait, when he penned these words; “What a Friend we have in Jesus.” The width of His passion extends to sinners and saints alike. The religious zealots of His day declared Him to be “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). Speaking to intimate associates chosen to be with Him; Jesus said, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). He emphasized the working of His passion; “be zealous therefore, and repent.” He declared that His love acts to “rebuke”; to convict and convince the sinners, and “chasten”; to discipline the saints. The objective of His Love in both sinners and saints is repentance; it is to generate conversion in one and consecration in the other; it makes one a candidate for heaven while conditioning the other to live there! Speaking of our “friend that sticketh closer than a brother”; Paul said, “who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20); “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (I John 4:10).
In the second brush stroke, He detailed His posture, “I stand at the door.” While He has been given a seat at the right hand of the Father; our Lord emphasized the fact that He is now standing. His posture emphasizes His will; while he has finished the work of salvation, there is still the wooing of salvation; “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). The word “willing” emphasizes an inter decision and denotes a more active resolution urging on to action. Speaking unto Zacchaeus, “the chief among the publicans”, Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). His posture emphasizes His welcome. As Steven was drawing his last breath looking “stedfastly into heaven”, he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Just as a warm welcome awaited Steven, a faithful soldier of the cross; a similar greeting awaits every sinner that will come by the way of the Calvary! Speaking unto the multitude by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). His posture testifies to a will to be accomplished and a welcome to be desired.
He follows with a brush stroke to detail His persistence, “I stand at the door, and knock.” The first thing to be revealed is the place of persistence, “at the door.” Jesus positioned Himself at “the door”; the portal or entrance into to one’s abode, its sole purpose is to permit or deny access. It is the closest place to the individual and yields the greatest opportunity! Having assume the place, He emphasizes the practice of persistence; “I . . . knock.” In an effort to reveal that He has drawn near, with nothing between Christ and the creature but the will of the creature, He knocks or raps upon the door. The rapping is not a singular event, sporadic, or occasional, but the tense of the word means that the knocking is occurring while the speaker is making the statement. He has, is, and continues to pursue men!
He makes the final brush stroke to detail His pleasure, “I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” God takes great pleasure in fellowshipping with man; “the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day . . . And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou” (Genesis 3:8-9). Speaking unto Moses, God said, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). Having wrapped Himself in flesh, “he ordained twelve, that they should be with him” (Mark 3:14). Looking forward toward eternity, John declared an endless day of fellowship; “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). God takes pleasure in feasting with man; “will sup with him, and he with me.” In mutual and intimate fellowship God and man occupy the same table! It is more than a snack or just another meal. The word “sup” is a reference to enjoying the evening or principle meal of the day.
Looking upon the canvas of God’s Word; Christ has bypassed the thoughts of men and placed before us a portrait for which He has posed and painted. A discerning look will recognize His passion for friendship that motivates Him to assume a posture that accentuates His will and His welcome. The portrait has captured His persistence as He takes the initiative to not only come near, but call with anticipation of an answer that will satisfy His deepest pleasures of fellowshipping and feasting with His creation. While the portrait emphasizes these four areas of His person, none are out of proportion or exaggerated; for “There’s None Like Him!”