Jesus was the “Alpha and the Omega.” He is the first and the last. He is the God who is, who was, and who is to come. Jesus is the ultimate and final message to us from God Himself. Paul prayed for the Ephesians, and for us, that we might comprehend this truth and grasp the message that God has for us all. The Apostle John summarized that message from God for us in John 3:16, a very well known passage. It says, That God so loved the world (everybody) that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it! As the “Word” from God he brings us the ultimate message! When Jesus calls himself the “alpha and the omega” he’s not just saying he’s the first and the last. The figure of speed means to include everything in between. He’s the entire communication from God to man. He’s the A to Z of it all! As Jesus lived His life on earth and completed his mission he put together all the letters necessary for us to understand God’s message. This is why the writer to the Hebrews 5:9 calls Jesus “…the author of eternal salvation.” Authors write books. Jesus wrote the book of eternal life for all who would believe.
Luke also calls Jesus an “author.” The Amplified Bible at Luke 1:68-69 says, “Blessed (praised and extolled and thanked) be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and brought deliverance and redemption to His people! And He has raised up a Horn of salvation [a mighty and valiant Helper, the Author of salvation] for us in the house of David His servant.” When Peter preached one of his famous sermons to the Jewish leaders, he also called Jesus an “author.” Acts 3:15 is where Peter says to the Jewish officials, “…you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.” In Psalm 74:12 (The New Jerusalem Bible), the writer sings about the Lord and calls him the “author of saving acts throughout the earth.” I like the way the Living Bible Translates Ephesians 1:23. He calls Jesus “…the Author and Giver of everything everywhere.” Further in Hebrews 12:1-2, the writer encourages his readers to remain steadfast through the hardships of life. He says, “…let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” There is one more mention of Jesus being an “author” and it’s in the letter that He wrote to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14. He says, “These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation.”
He is certainly the “alpha and the omega.” He wrote the books! Jesus is the author of life, eternal life. Jesus is the author of our salvation. He’s the author and giver of everything everywhere. He is the author of our faith. He is the author of God’s creation. Yet, part of his own creation want to challenge him, they deny him, and they reject him. Isaiah 29:16 tells us of the clay pot that challenges the potter. Then he asks the question, “ “Does a book say to its author, ‘He didn’t write a word of me’”? How can the pot condemn the potter? How can the book accuse it’s author? But it’s still like that with Jesus, the author, of life. I believe this helps us understand the first Chapter of John’s Gospel a little better. John 1:1-4 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Then in John 1:10-14, we read, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”