Christians are people unique from everyone else in this: we worship Jesus. Muslims say Jesus is merely a prophet. At best, Jews will credit him as merely a human teacher of the Law. Cults like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Seventh Day Adventists say he’s a created being. But, we Christians, with humble and joyful confidence believe what he said about himself: he is the only true God (John 8:58; 10:30).

The reasons are given in the Old and New Testament and they are legion. For an incredibly helpful and memorable survey of all the ways the Bible teaches Jesus is God, I point you to a nifty acronym created by Robert M. Bowman Jr. and J. Ed Komoszewski that is well worth your time.

A Glorious Vision

But, for now, I wanted to answer the question, “Why worship Jesus?” by briefly looking at a vision the Apostle John gets in Revelation 1:12-16. It begins like this:

I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man. Revelation 1:12-13a

Here, John is blessed with a vision of Jesus as the one who walks in the midst of his churches (i.e. the lampstands; because they exist to shine light upon Jesus). From there, he describes his vision which is loaded with symbolism that help show why Jesus is worthy of the worship of all.

Christ Is the Glorious Priest King

“Clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.” This is theology via wardrobe. Long robes are the clothes of priests (Ex. 25:7; 28:4) and powerful kings (Esther 6:8; Isaiah 6:1). Jesus came to reconcile us to God as our Priest and has since resurrected to rule over as our King. He’s no mere teacher or prophet, he’s the Priest King who demands our attention.

But what kind of Priest King is he?

From here, John gives us a list of all the facets he notices from this glorious Priest King. Each part helps us see, hopefully with the eyes of our hearts, why Christ is worthy not just of respect, but worship.

He Is the Perfectly Wise Priest King

“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow” (Revelation 1:14a) If gray hair is the crown of wisdom and righteous by experienced gained (Proverbs 16:31), then white hair like freshly shorned wool is a sign of perfect, unerring wisdom. Do you want wisdom to avoid being a sloppy fool? In Jesus “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Worship King Jesus because he’s wise.

He Is the Perfectly Knowledgeable Priest King

“His eyes were like a flame of fire…” (Revelation 1:14b). Eyes are what we use to see and understand. To confirm if someone understands our point, we rightly ask, “Do you see?” No matter the subject matter, when we ask Jesus that, his answer is an eternal, “Yes.” There is not an iota of your world or your life that Jesus does not know about. Like fire, his eyes are unhindered by darkness and expose everything. He know the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), the questions of your heart (Mark 2:8), and the number of days until your death (John 20:19). He knows his sheep (John 10:27) and their works (Rev. 2:2), their hardship (Rev. 2:9), and their love (Rev. 2:19). He knows, beloved. He knows. Worship King Jesus because he knows.

He Is the Perfectly Powerful Priest King

“His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace…” Shoes were important for soldiers lest their bloody and blistered feet end their fight. Jesus’ needed no shoes to protect because his very feet were bronze; never failing to keep him from his mission. Not only that, they were “burnished bronze, refined in a furnace” that is, pure, polished, and unstained by sin or corruption. Against the tide of darkness, Jesus has and will continue to march on unhindered and unhurt.

Not only that, “his voice was like the roar of many waters.” In John’s day, there were few things louder or more forceful than an enormous body of violent waters. Here, Jesus possesses nothing less than the voice of God. Psalm 29:3 says, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.” I can’t help but think, here, John remembered the day when Jesus’ mighty voice silenced the winds and waves that only moments earlier scared the living daylights out of him (Mark 13:35-41). Sitting in the resulting silence, John and the Apostles experienced an even greater fear: “They were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'” (Mark 4:41). Who is this? God in human flesh worthy of worship. Worship King Jesus because he is unimaginably powerful.

He Is the Perfectly Attentive Priest King

“In his right hand he held seven stars…” Later in this passage (1:20), the stars are said to be the seven churches that are written to in chapters 2 and 3. Here, all that we need to know is this: Jesus has his church in his hand and no one can snatch them out of his hand (John 10:28-29). Jesus isn’t just the Helper of the church or the Example or the Teacher, but he is her Keeper, Protector, Lover, Friend, and Savior. He holds her tightly in his grip and will never let her go (Heb. 13:5). Like a compassionate father (Psalm 103:13) or a loving husband (Ephesians 5:25-29), Jesus holds his church in his strong hand and will never let her go. Worship King Jesus because he is strong, kind, and faithful.

He Is the Perfectly Just Priest King.

“From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword…” We live in a world of horrible things that deserve the deepest and most profound judgment. Jesus will bring just that. The sword of Jesus’ justice is nothing less than his word (hence the weird, but so awesome, sword-mouth imagery). To enact perfect justice, nothing more is needed than perfect knowledge to understand the truth concerning evil (which the Fire-Eyed one has), perfect power to issue the punishment due (which the thundering voice, bronze footed one has), perfect wisdom to know exactly the punishment deserved (which the white-haired one has), and the perfect authority or position to deliver the condemning sentence (which the sword-mouthed judge has). If the evil of this world makes your heart ache with sorrow, may the Sword-Mouthed Priest King be a ready salve. Worship King Jesus because he will enact perfect justice.

He Is Perfect In All Ways

John ends his description of Jesus with this line: “and his face was like the sun shining in full strength” (1:16). That sums it up, doesn’t it? So good, so beautiful, so true, and so glorious is Jesus that to get even a glimpse of him overwhelms us as if we were looking directly at the sun, but only infinitely brighter.

This is why I am a Christian and why others are Christians. Not because our parents were or because it’s our culture’s preferred religion. Not because we like it or that it’s convenient. No, Christians worship Jesus because he is worthy of our worship. We worship Jesus because every other option is laughably, even sickeningly, inferior to him. We worship Jesus because, like he said, he is the true God.