I think everyone would love to see a rider on a white horse come thundering across the horizon sweeping in to take care of our problems. Christianity is under attack in our culture. In Revelation 19 the Apostle John records Jesus coming to the rescue. How do we know that this is Jesus on the horse? This nugget along with a number of other details are pieced together in this puzzle of a picture.
All of the details that you see describing this rider can be found in other places in the Bible. That gives us even more details on this rider AND gives us an opportunity for great Bible study. There is just one detail I want to hit on in this post.
Why is the Rider on the White Horse the only one who looks like he went through a bloody battle? Normally if there was a battle in the ancient world, the king wouldn’t even be present; he has people for that! But on occasion you would see a king riding victoriously into a city to declare himself the victor. Never would you see the king as the only one who had fought the battle. This king is different.
Jesus is the only one who could fight the battle for us. No angel or person could’ve accomplish all that Jesus did. First we needed a hero. Someone who could take our place. We are hopelessly sinful, in fact we were born that way. We needed someone who could be us and live perfectly in our place. Next we needed someone who could pay not just for my sins (I have plenty – ask any member of my church) but for the sins of the whole world! Only the blood of God, the sacrifice of the divine could be payment enough for the whole world. Jesus had to be true God and true Man so that he could win the victory over sin, death, and the devil. To prove it, Jesus still has the scars. He looks like someone who was crucified because he was crucified.
This our God has done perfectly and completely. Want to hear more about your conquering God? Watch this Sunday’s Bible class from Christ the King Sunday, The Rider on the White Horse based on Revelation 19.
Please click HERE to view the Bible class slides.