Jesus is Worthy (Rev. 5:1-5)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
It is a pleasure to be with you at New Village Church. My name is Jason Soto. I am married to my wife Jeannette. We are both originally from New York, and currently serve in San Diego, California. San Diego is a place where you go on vacation there and never want to leave.
I am a pastor at a church called Catalyst Church in San Diego, and have served with a Christian ministry reaching the homeless and addicted for about seven years. San Diego is an attractive place for the homeless, so there is a big mission field there.
We are going to talk about being “worthy.” Having worth, being worthy is an interesting thing. It is often a difficult thing to think of being worthy of something. How do we know if we are worthy?
I used to watch Saturday Night Live growing up, and there was this skit by a couple of comedians, and the guys would meet some famous person and would say, “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!”
The truth is that none of us are worthy. There is no perfect person out there who is worthy. The Bible shows us that it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy. How can I know that Jesus is worthy? What does that mean and how is he worthy?
We will be in the book of Revelation, chapter 5.
1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.
2 I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it.
4 I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it.
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Transition
The Lord Jesus is worthy to bring judgment on the earth.
The Lord Jesus is worthy to bring judgment on the earth.
This text focuses us on the idea of worthiness. The mighty angel proclaims with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break it’s seals?” The prophet weeps because there is no one worthy, but one of the elders points him to the one who is worthy.
What does it mean to be worthy?
What does it mean to be worthy?
The word here for “worthy” comes from the Greek word “axios” and relates to an idea of a scale.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament ἄξιος, ἀνάξιος
† ἄξιος, ἀνάξιος.
Properly, “bringing up the other beam of the scales,” “bringing into equilibrium.” and therefore “equivalent”
You see the idea of the word “worthy” in Romans 8:18. Paul describes two things and compares it one another to describe worth.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
The concept of “worthy” has to do with equivalent. In Revelation 5, what the angel is asking is who is equivalent, who is comparable to the worth of opening God’s scroll?
What is the scroll?
What is the scroll?
1 Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.
2 I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
We know a couple things about this scroll. It contains revelation from God, and it takes someone comparable in perfection with God to open it. In opening the scroll, we know what the consequences are.
The scroll results in judgment.
The seals end up playing out Revelation 6-8, leading to the trumpet and bowl judgments. The seals start with the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which starts with the Antrichrist, warfare, famine, plagues, martyrdom, earthquakes and all kinds of natural disasters. This all goes into the trumpet and bowl judgments.
The seven seals shows that the judgment is complete to accomplish God’s purpose.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Number Systems and Number Symbolism
seven came to symbolize completeness and perfection. God’s work of creation was both complete and perfect, and it was completed in seven days. All of mankind’s existence was related to God’s creative activity. The seven-day week reflected God’s first creative activity. The Sabbath was that day of rest following the workweek, reflective of God’s rest (Gen. 1:1–2:4).
When the angel is asking who is worthy to open the seals, the question is, who is worthy to bring judgment upon the earth? No one is found worthy, which causes the prophet to weep.
Why is the prophet weeping?
Why is the prophet weeping?
4 I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it.
The scroll is necessary to open; judgment is necessary.
The scroll is necessary to open. Judgment is a necessary so that a holy and righteous God can work to complete his restorative purposes.
You can think of it like a virus. Once a body has come in contact and been infected with a virus, it is necessary for the body to go through a sickness process for healing to occur.
God is going to deal with the destructive consequences of sin once and for all, a disease the Christ dealt with on the cross, and the restorative process upon the world begins in judgment with the opening of the scroll.
No angel, man, or past saint is worthy to open the scroll; only the Lord Jesus is worthy to bring judgment.
How is Jesus worthy to bring judgment?
How is Jesus worthy to bring judgment?
The Lord talks about the way that he brings judgment. In John 5, the Lord discusses his judgment and how his judgment is worthy.
27 And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
30 “I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
The Son of God is has the right to judge, and is perfectly aligned with the Father’s will.
When the Son brings judgment, it is perfect.
The Lord Jesus is worthy to bring judgment upon the earth.
What’s interesting is that a common misconception is that God in the OT was this grumpy, angry guy with a bunch of rules that people couldn’t follow. People don’t like that guy, but they like the God of the NT. That guy was loving, kind of this hippie peace-and-love guy who didn’t want to hurt anyone.
That’s a terrible misconception, and it totally ignores parts of the NT like the book of Revelation. The Bible reveals one God in three Persons, with one character. God is full of love, mercy, and grace. He is also righteous, holy, and brings judgment upon unholiness and unrighteousness.
Judgement is only as good as the person judging.
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In 2009 news surfaced that Mark Ciavarella, a judge in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, had sentenced around 3,000 children to months of detention after they had committed minor infractions. This corrupt judge was later sentenced to 28 years in prison for accepting $2.2 million as a “finder’s fee” for the construction of a for-profit facility—the same facility to which he had been sending these so-called delinquents. When the truth came out, 2,480 of those convictions were reversed and expunged.
We understand the judgement needs to come from a righteous judge. Injustice is a terrible thing. The judgment upon the earth that will bring about the final restoration has to come from someone perfect. As Apostle John looked, there was no one worthy, no angel, no man, no saint. Only Jesus. It was the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ who is worthy to bring judgment upon the earth.
Why is He worthy? Two things.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he is the promised King.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he is the promised King.
Look at the language that the elder uses to describe the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised king.
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
The Lord Jesus is the Lion of Judah.
The Lord Jesus is the Lion of Judah.
This is the one instance in the NT where Jesus is referred to as a lion. He is normally referred to as lamb, but in this case he is a lion. This description comes from a prophecy about the Messiah in the book of Genesis.
9 Judah is a young lion— my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.
The Lion of Judah is a powerful king.
This description speaks of the promised king as powerful. The Lord Jesus is powerful because of who he is. He is God incarnate, the Son of Man, God in human flesh. He is worthy to open the scroll because of his power.
The Lion of Judah deserves the obedience of the people in his kingdom.
The promised king, the Messiah and Lion of Judah, deserves the obedience of the peoples because of who he is. God deserves obedience. He is worthy to open the scroll and bring judgment because the obedience of the peoples belong to him.
The Lord Jesus is the Root of David.
The Lord Jesus is the Root of David.
The elder describes the Lord as the Root of David. The prophet Isaiah describes the Messiah in the following way.
10 On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will look to him for guidance, and his resting place will be glorious.
The Lord is the Messianic King promised through the line of David that the nations will come to because the obedience of the people belong to him. He is worthy to open the scroll because he is the promised king.
The Lord’s kingship is like this scene from the musical Camelot.
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Appearances
In the opening scenes of the musical Camelot, we see King Arthur standing in a field dressed in the clothes of a common peasant. To look at him you would have no idea he was king. In fact, when Guinevere first met Arthur, she didn’t have a clue that he was king over all Camelot. Arthur was, in fact, king, but his outward appearance gave no evidence of this fact.
The Lord Jesus is king, and his kingship was missed in his first coming because he didn’t come the way they expected him to come. Yet, kingship is not about appearances, but about who you are, what you have the rights to. The Lord Jesus is king, and he rules and reigns over all the earth. The Lord Jesus is worthy because he is the promised king.
The second reason that the Lord is worthy is this.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he has conquered the world.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he has conquered the world.
Listen to how the elder describes what the Lord has done.
5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Look, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
What has the Lord conquered?
What has the Lord conquered?
The Lord describes in at least two instances what he has conquered.
33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
The Lord has conquered the world system. It is a reason for us to be strong and courageous because the Lord has conquered the things we face. In Luke 11, Jesus describes how he has conquered the enemy, Satan.
22 But when one stronger than he attacks and overpowers him, he takes from him all his weapons he trusted in, and divides up his plunder.
Jesus is the one who is stronger. The word for overpower can also be translated as conquered. Jesus is stronger than the enemy that we face, and he has conquered him. That is why the apostle John says greater is he that is in you, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
What does the conquering king look like?
What does the conquering king look like?
Look at the description of the vision of the conquering king.
6 Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.
What is important in this description of the Lord Jesus is that he is like a slaughtered lamb. He is not dead. He is very much alive and has conquered the grave.
The cross is central to all history.
The Lord has conquered death and the grave.
The victory of Christ on the cross is worthy of worship and praise. This is what we see in this vision in heaven.
9 And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.
God continues to bring people to him through the power of the cross.
The Lord Jesus changed my life in 2006. I was working as a Police Officer in the NYPD. My partner drove to a church, and started speaking with a pastor there. In the middle of their conversation, the pastor looks at me and says, “What are you going to tell God when you die?” I said, “I don’t know. I protected and served?” I looked at my partner, and we left. But that problem bothered me throughout the week. That Sunday, my wife woke me up and asked if I wanted to go to church. I said, “Ok.” I don’t remember the sermon, but I remember the battle I was facing inside. The next day, in my office in my home, I surrendered to Christ.
My sins were paid for at the cross, and it is because Christ conquered at the cross that you and I can be free. What the cross shows is freedom. It shows God taking on my penalty so I can be free to know him, free to worship him, free to give my obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
The Lord Jesus is worthy to bring judgment on the earth.
The Bible says that there is a future judgment coming upon all people. There is a time coming when the world will face a final judgment. And there is only one who is worthy to bring judgment to the earth.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he is the promised King.
The Lord is mighty and powerful because he is God in the flesh. The obedience of the peoples belong to him because of who he is.
The Lord Jesus is worthy because he has conquered the world.
The cross is the central story of history. It is the central story of the past, present, and future. It says that there is a God in heaven who cares for you, and wants to set you free from sin and death.
Jesus is worthy to bring judgment because he is the promised King who has conquered the world.