ALL SAINTS SUNDAY (Revelation 7:9-17, 2023)

In November 1940, the city of Coventry, in England, was bombed by the Nazis. The town was destroyed, and the centuries old cathedral took two direct hits and was reduced to rubble. In the aftermath of the war, the church made an interesting decision. They left the ruins of their cathedral in place. They cleaned up the rubble, but they did not tear down the stones that remained standing. They left the broken walls in place then built their new church right next to it.

When they built the new cathedral, they installed a large glass wall. Etched into the glass are large figures, four feet wide and 10 feet tall: images of saints and angels rejoicing in heaven. Why a wall of clear glass? Because outside that wall of glass stands the ruins of the old cathedral. As you look through the glass, you see what remains of the bombed-out church. Those ruins are a picture of the broken world in which we live. But to see the ruins you must look through the glass that is etched with the images of Saints and angels. You cannot see the rubble except in the light of the promise of heaven.

On this day we remember the status we have as Saints of God even here on earth, and we focus our attention on the future glory that awaits us: the glory enjoyed by every saint who has gone before us.

(GOAL) In the midst of life’s sorrows, I pray you will find comfort in the heavenly promises of Christ Jesus, who has paved the way for you.

Our text this morning is from our Revelation reading, specifically:

Revelation 7:14–17 “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Let us pray: These are Thy words, O Lord. Help us, and sanctify us in the truth. Thy Word is truth. Amen.

We, God’s saints, are not immune to the trials and tribulations of life, which is why Jesus calls it the great tribulation. Therefore, as we live amid this reality, we can rejoice now because we have a future that will never fade away. In fact we are looking forward to a future of no hunger or thirst, where Jesus our Shepherd will lead us to springs of living water and wipe away every tear from our eyes.

This Life is One of Tears.

Pop psychology tells us such a view is unhealthy. We are taught and told to keep our emotions in check, and when I was a kid I was told, “Big boys don’t cry.” Perhaps you’ve even heard the term, “Suck it up!”

There are so many sources of tears today.

Physical pain —

Grief over death —

Injustice, mistreatment, persecution

Loneliness or rejection — This week I was talking with a brother pastor in our Church body and he described the abandonment he experienced during his wife’s unfaithfulness, which ultimately resulted in her leaving him. Though it happened awhile ago one could easily see the affects and pain still in his face and eyes as he described how her unfaithfulness wrecked the family. — Loneliness, Rejection, Abandonment are very real.

Even our own sin and guilt — Friends, if we saw our own sin rightly and fully, we, too, would weep greatly and bitterly.

The Psalms describe the grief of life in vivid terms:

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body!” (Psalm 31:9);

“My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:3);

“I am exhausted as I groan; all night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.” (Psalm 6:6).

This incredible picture leads us to our next point:

Out of Compassion, Jesus Entered This Life of Tears — for Us!

And God is not blind to our weeping.

Take childless Hannah as an example: (1 Sam 1:9–20).

Hannah did not have children and wanted them desperately. Her husband was very kind, but that did not help her sadness. “She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” Then she made a vow to the Lord that if He gave her a son that she would give him back to the Lord… “Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

God is not blind to our weeping!

And so, dear Saints, what tears have you shed?

What tears have you shed? What has caused you to drench your pillow with tears? Abandoned; Divorce; Death of a loved one; physical pain? Illness? What?

Saints . . . God has seen your tears and heard your weeping. In fact, the Psalms speak of God storing up our tears in a bottle (Ps 56:8). “You put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?”

And God has done more than notice our tears. In Christ, he has entered into our life of tears.

There was no room for Jesus’ parents in the inn. Then, soon after Jesus’ birth, Herod came seeking his life, and many mothers of slaughtered boys would be wailing (Mt 2:16–18). “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were gone.”

Jesus himself experiences all the sorrows of this world; he weeps.

Weeping with Mary and Martha (Jn 11:33, 35).

Weeping over Jerusalem and its coming divine judgment (Lk 19:41).

He even cried out in sorrow over the bitter path of betrayal, abandonment, and death before Him. Listen to these examples:

“And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.’ (Mark 14:33-34);

“During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.” (Hebrews 5:7).

We live in this life of tears because of sin. Not only the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve in the Garden, but our own sin as well. And Christ came to do more than simply weep with the sorrowful, he came to take away the cause of our tears!

And He does so my absorbing 100% of God’s wrath for sin in His own body

This picture illustrates what we deserve from God, but as you can see from the image we are the one on the left of the screen. We get off “scott-free” while Jesus endures all of God’s wrath for you.

And, because He endured this for us, died and was buried, then rose again from the dead, Jesus gives us new life as we turn to God in faith. And now,

One Day, God Will Wipe Away Your Tears—Forever.

Know this: Though this world is suffering with wars and rumors of wars; suffering with political unrest; and we are suffering with sickness, disease, and sadness, the tears are temporary! This is God’s promise to you:

“Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b);

“The one who weeps as he walks along, carrying his bag of seed, will certainly come in with a shout of joy, carrying his sheaves of grain” (Psalm 126:6);

“For I conclude that our sufferings at the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. 19 In fact, creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed... 22 For we know that all of creation is groaning with birth pains right up to the present time. 23 And not only creation, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we eagerly await our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 Indeed, it was for this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for something we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patient endurance... 28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, 29 because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him? 33Who will bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies! 34Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus, who died and, more than that, was raised to life, is the one who is at God’s right hand and who is also interceding for us! 35What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36Just as it is written: For your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:18ff).

That day is coming, dear Saints, when you will experience Jesus Revelation firsthand!

A huge multitude from every nation, all in white, with palm branches and song worshiping Christ the Lamb. No hunger! No thirst! Living waters. And no tears!

The blood of the Lamb (v. 14) will have made all the difference: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

On that day, God will wipe away every tear from your eyes . . . FOREVER!

But for now, we wait. And often, we weep. In this life, we shed in tears. “Blessed are those who mourn,” Jesus says, “for they shall be comforted” (Mt 5:4).

Today, we celebrate God’s faithfulness to those who have died in the faith, whose struggles and sorrows are over, whose tears have ended. God’s saints shed many tears in this world. But for His saints in heaven, there is no more crying—just joy. They are finally looking upon the face of God (Mt 5:8).

And so, just like the members of the Coventry Cathedral cannot see the rubble of their bombed-out church except in the light of the promise of heaven, we too endure our trials and tribulations knowing that one day Christ Jesus will reach out His nail-scared hands and wipe away every tear from your eyes.