Untitled Sermon (2)

Intro

Revelation 5 ESV

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

For many, this holiday season is not one of joy but of many other complicated emotions. For some of us it’s a time of grief. A time of anxiety. A time of depression. That is the thing about all of us in this room. We all come from somewhere and have stories that we carry with us. Unfortunately, those stories, while testifying to God’s grace and mercy to us, also give us this baggage that we have to deal with. That is why I have actually found joy in this season where I used to find grief and depression.

With this devotion I want to frame the way we think about this season and while it is not going to fix any of the issues or negative feelings that anyone has this time of year, I pray it helps at least one of you to find a little bit more joy in this time than before.

If you do not know, these four weeks we are in the middle of is the Advent season. It starts 4 Sundays before Christmas and culminates in Christmas Day. It is the start of the “church calendar” and historically it has been a time of great celebration for the Church. During Advent we do 2 things:

- We look back to the birth of Christ and remember that God was faithful to fulfill His promise to deliver us.

- We join the anticipation of the Old Testament saints as we await His second coming when He will once and for all rid this world of all sin and death.

I won’t even begin to attempt to try and unpack the ins and outs of this passage in this brief devotion. Something to note, though, is that the scroll that nobody is worthy to open seems to be the plan of redemption for humanity and all of Creation. The next chapter will be the breaking of these seals as judgment is brought out on the Earth until at the end God’s people stand redeemed in His throne. Here, in this chapter, Christ is seen as being worthy in connection to His being the Lamb that is slain.

Christ has come

First, let’s look at the fact that Christ has come.

Revelation 5:1–5 ESV

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

At this point, what you, being in John’s shoes, would expect to see is some conquering King. Some strong warrior or mighty hero. This is the only person in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, who is worthy to unravel the plan of salvation. This is the only person with the power and sovereignty to bring the entirety of the cosmos to its intended end. But what does John see?

Revelation 5:6–7 (ESV)

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

All the way back in Genesis 3:15, God promised to deal with the issue of sin that we all have. The fact of the matter is: on our own, we are all hopeless and helpless. And not just us, but society, our world, our bodies, everything. All of creation is crying out for redemption. God promised early on that He would fix it and set it back to the way it is supposed to be. Someone would come from Him who would set the world right.

We know from history that those who lived in the time of Jesus expected the Messiah to be a conquering king who would come and overthrow the Roman Empire. But it is not a military hero that angels sang for and the sky lit up to worship. It was an infant child born of a Virgin, an ordinary teenage girl who was not special in any way, shape, or form, other than simply being humble and trusting in God.

The conquering king would prove to conquer death, not the Roman Empire, but instead of being this strong hero that would be expected, He instead was a man who lived a life of suffering from start to finish.

(Quote about Christ suffering as an infant)

This was not any ordinary man, though. This was God, very God, who had stepped into His own creation. He did not leave us to fix our sin issue ourselves. He did not expect some man to be good enough to overturn the curses of sin and death. His plan was that He would do it Himself. He would take our flesh and become one of us in the most unexpected but beautiful rescue mission the world would ever see.

His lowly life culminated in a painful and agonizing death reserved only for those deemed to be the worst of society. But in John’s Gospel, His ascension to the cross is His ascension to the throne. His death is the very gateway into life.

He rose from the grave with victory and power and ascended to the throne. And from the throne He reigns victoriously and eternally as the only Good King.

Christ will come again

The Root of David, the Lion of Judah, has not finished His work with dying on the cross and letting us figure it out on our own. We look forward to His final act of salvation where sin and death will be fully lifted, not just in part. Because He came and waged His victorious war against Satan, we know that He will be faithful to His word and come again to claim the Kingdom that is already rightfully His. He will come and dwell with us again. He will set all things right and we join with the Old Testament saints in this anticipation.

All of us in this room see the devastating effects of sin every day in our jobs. We have felt the devastating effects of sin in our lives. We may have had the entire Advent season clouded in pain. But these days of pain and suffering are numbered. We join with the elders in the throne room of heaven who worship Him.

Revelation 5:8–14 ESV

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.