Song of Redemption

A Problem Births a Song

I suspect at least the majority of us if not all, enjoy listening to origin stories about songs. Some of the greatest hymns and even modern songs have amazing and heart touching beginnings. Often, they don't come from the mountaintop. Sometimes they come from the valley.

The Christian artist Jeremy Camp discovered that. After his young wife Melissa died of cancer, Jeremy was devastated. He didn't feel like singing. He didn't feel like writing. He didn't even understand what God was doing.

But in the middle of that pain, he sensed God telling him to pick up his guitar and write. And out of that grief came the song I Still Believe. Think about that. The song came out of the problem. The pain didn't disappear before he could praise God. The praise came in the middle of the pain.

Here is something to encourage you right from the beginning. Whatever you’re going through right now, God is able to put a song in your mouth:

Psalm 40:1–3 NIV

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.

And that brings us to Revelation 5. Because before heaven sings, heaven faces a problem. Before there is a song of redemption, there is a crisis that seems to have no solution.

The Problem We Cannot Solve

Kids are famous for asking and asking and asking…over and over. And they are famous for asking the most inappropriate questions at the most inappropriate times. You’re checking out in HEB and your toddler asks, “Why is that man so big?” or “Why doesn’t that man have hair on his head?” Well, they just need to know!

Revelation 5 presents the problem of a scroll that can’t be opened. John needs to know! We need to know! This causes John to “weep and weep” because no one was worthy to open it; that is, until Jesus.

Revelation 5:5 NIV

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

This is the problem. No one knows what is written on the scrolls. If it had been just any other book, we would simply drop it and move on. But these scrolls represent so much more! They represent God’s complete, unchangeable plan for creation. It contains God’s eternal decrees. It contains everything from individual human decisions to the destinies of galaxies.

The history of the world tells us these are things man wants to know (whether they admit it or not):

At the Tower of Babel man tried to create their own path to significance, security, and transcendence without God.

Modern thinkers envision using technology, biotechnology, AI, genetic engineering, and eventually radical life extension to overcome human limitations—including aging and perhaps death itself.

Marxism/Communism tries to create a redeemed human society through human political and economic structures, without redemption of the human heart by God.

Secular humanism tempts man to determine their own meaning.

Modern consumerism teaches that “we can purchase happiness”.

I know that is pretty ‘heady’, but my point is that the content of the scroll is significant and mankind is trying to answer the questions without God’s help!

Well, there is an answer and it is found in Jesus!

The One Who Can Solve It

Enter Jesus! This is what is going to birth the response of the worship song! John hears the announcement of the Lion of Judah, but what he sees is quite different. Instead, he sees a scarred Lamb.

Revelation 5:6 NIV

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

If you receive Dave Roever’s newsletters you will have read about a recent dream he had. If you don’t know, Dave Roever was severely wounded in Vietnam. Dave was blown up by a phosphorus grenade and about 50% of his body received 3rd degree burns. He received blast damage to his face, hands, neck, back, trunk, and legs. He knows about scars.

In Dave’s dream he sees Jesus and goes to Him. Dave wraps his arms around Him and realizes that Jesus has scars all over. One after another, Jesus explains to Dave how each of the scars on Jesus demonstrated His love for Dave. Dave saw the love of Jesus in His scars.

I suppose that when we initially read Revelation 5 and see the problem, we would like to have the Lion show up. The truth is that although Jesus is the Lion of Judah, what we really need is the scarred Lamb!

John is told to look for a Lion. John looks—and sees a Lamb. But this isn't a contradiction. It is the revelation of how the Lion conquered. The Lion conquered by becoming the Lamb.

The Redemption Song

Now we are ready to hear the song. And notice something: heaven isn't singing because the problem disappeared. Heaven is singing because Jesus has been revealed as the answer.

Let’s begin at verse 8:

Revelation 5:8–14 NIV

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Let's slow this scene down, because John is showing us something bigger than a worship service. He is showing us what happens when heaven sees redemption clearly. Imagine watching a movie:

Scene 1 — Close-up

The camera is tight on the throne. You see the four living creatures and 24 elders. Twenty-eight voices. It's intimate.

Scene 2 — Pull back

The camera begins moving backward. You realize there are angels surrounding the throne. And not dozens. Millions upon millions. The camera keeps pulling back.

Scene 3 — Pull back farther

You see heaven. But then the camera continues. It pulls past heaven. It sees earth. The sea. Everything living. Everything created.

And then you realize: The camera has pulled back far enough to reveal that the entire creation is singing.

[Then pause].

o John starts with 28 voices. But God's worth is too great for 28 voices. So the choir gets bigger.

o Then millions of angels aren't enough.

o So all creation joins in.

Because when the Lamb is finally seen for who He really is, worship is the only response big enough.

What an amazing picture! And Revelation isn't merely asking us to admire their worship. It is asking us to join it.

The Life of the Redeemed!

Let’s talk about redemption. Redemption paints an image of slavery, more specifically, being freed from slavery. The Old Testament frequently reminds the people of their captivity in Egypt and, later, in Babylon. In the NT redemption centers on the gift of Jesus and the cost of his life at Calvary so we can be free from spiritual slavery and eternal death.

Redemption is not simply being rescued from something—it is being bought back for something. Imagine an old, neglected house that has been condemned and scheduled for demolition. Someone sees beyond its broken windows, damaged walls, and overgrown yard, purchases it at great cost, and begins restoring it—not merely to make it habitable again, but to give it a new purpose and beauty. That is redemption: God does not merely rescue us from the wreckage of sin; He pays the price to reclaim us, restore us, and give our lives a new purpose.

If I have been redeemed, I don't have to control the future.

Revelation 5 begins with John crying because nobody is worthy to open the scroll. The answer is not: "John, here's what's going to happen." The answer is: "Look at Jesus."

That is significant. We often think peace comes from knowing what happens next. Revelation says peace comes from knowing who holds what happens next.

You may not know what is written on the scroll, but you know the One who holds it.

If I have been redeemed, my identity has changed.

Verse 9 says: "You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation."

And verse 10: "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests..."

The redeemed aren't merely rescued people. They are purchased people. They now belong to God.

I don't belong to my past.

I don't belong to my failures.

I don't belong to my fears.

I don't belong to the culture around me.

I belong to the Lamb.

If I have been redeemed, my life has a purpose.

God didn't simply purchase you out of sin. He purchased you for Himself.

Redemption isn't merely about where God brought you from. It is about what God has purchased you for.

What are you doing with the life Christ purchased?

If I have been redeemed, worship becomes my response—not merely my activity.

Notice how the passage expands: the elders worship → the angels worship → all creation worships.

Why? Because redemption demands a response. And worship isn't merely singing. Worship is saying with your life: "Jesus, because You purchased me, my life belongs to You."

How I treat my spouse

How I conduct myself at work

How I handle money

How I respond to suffering

How I forgive

How I serve

How I use my time

How I treat people who are different from me

When the Lamb is Seen

John begins Revelation 5 with tears. Nobody is worthy. The scroll cannot be opened. The future seems locked away. But then John hears, 'Do not weep.' And he looks—and there stands the Lamb.

The problem wasn't that John suddenly understood everything. The problem was that John finally understood who Jesus was. He didn't get an explanation. He got a revelation. He didn't receive all the answers. He saw the One who holds the answers. And when John saw the Lamb, his tears became worship.

Maybe you're here today and you're standing in the middle of a problem. Maybe you don't understand what God is doing. Maybe you don't know what tomorrow holds. Revelation 5 doesn't promise that you'll know everything written on the scroll. But it gives you something better: You know the One who is worthy to open it.

He is the Lion who conquered. He is the Lamb who was slain. He is the One who purchased you with His blood. And if He has redeemed you, then your story doesn't end with the problem.

The problem may have given birth to the song. But the Lamb gives you the reason to sing. So what do redeemed people do? They worship. They serve. They live differently. They surrender control. They trust the One who holds the future. Because when the Lamb is finally seen for who He really is, worship is the only response big enough.