UTTER ... HOPE (MARANA THA, REV. 22:20)

Speaker: Pastor Tristan Sherwin

'I need to say, here, that John and the early church—and many people since—have not prayed this out of wishful thinking. I mean, sure, when we go through suffering, who doesn’t hope it will come to an end. But there’s more going on here, more than the push that sufferings induce.

John’s and the early church’s prayer is, first and foremost, a response.

In the verses immediately before this prayer, Jesus speaks three times:

‘Look, I am coming soon.’ (Rev. 22:7, NLT)

‘See, I am coming soon.’ (Rev. 22: 12, NLT)‘

Yes, I am coming soon.’ (Rev. 22:20, NLT)

Jesus speaks—promising to come. And John answers, ‘Come.’

Or, if you prefer the fuller four-word version of this prayer,

‘Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.’

That word amen is worth a mention. It means, roughly, ‘so be it.’

Or, as The Beatles sang it, ‘Let it be.’

Or, if you prefer, how Captain James T. Kirk used to say it in Star Trek: ‘Make it so.’

And so, this prayer is not wishful thinking; that we are just pushed to pray by what we experience. It is a response, pulled from us by the promise Jesus himself made and will keep.

He is coming—the Living God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the great I AM—to make all things new.'

Tristan shares his full sermon notes on his own blog. You can read this full message here: UTTER ... HOPE (MARANA THA, REV. 22:20)