G OD HOLDS A SCROLL sealed with seven seals. An angel searches for someone who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals, but no one is found. If the seals are not broken, God’s plan for the defeat of evil will never happen. The full coming of God’s reign will never happen.
That’s the intrigue of the John the Elder’s vision in Revelation chapter 5.
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JOHN, THE AUTHOR OF REVELATION, weeps and weeps because no one is found to be worthy to open the scroll or look inside. At that point an elder tells John to stop crying. There is One who is worthy — the Lion of Judah. John turns to see the lion, but what he sees instead is “a Lamb looking as if it had been slain”. The Lamb goes to the throne and takes the scroll. The elders immediately fall before him and worship.
Our reading begins as the chorus of praise to the Lamb grows: angels, the four living creatures, and the elders sing with a loud voice. There are so many singing praise that they number “ten thousand times ten thousand” — a number so large they can’t be counted. And what they sing is, “Worthy is the Lamb.”
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“WORTHY” IS A WELL-KNOWN POLITICAL TERM in the Roman Empire. In our country a band plays “Hail to the Chief” when the president enters a large gathering. In the first century, crowds are trained to shout, “Worthy! Worthy! Worthy is the emperor!” when the Roman emperor appears in public.
Revelation constantly engages in a struggle with the powers of evil, symbolized and centered in the Roman Empire. The government is not to be praised. The leader is not worthy. The military doesn’t have the might.
We might fall into that trap of thinking a president, government, capitalism or other temporal entity is worthy of worship and praise. To think it is these earthly things to which we are to offer our allegiance.
Revelation reveals in a way we might easily miss if we’re not paying attention. Worthy! Worthy! Not the emperor. Not the ruler or political power or military might. Worthy! Worthy! Worthy is the Lamb.
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“WORTHY IS THE LAMB who was slain.” Lamb is the favorite title for Jesus in the book of Revelation, and the Lamb remains always the crucified one, even when he is also the resurrected one and the LORD of the world. There is no path to worthiness that does not pass through the cross. It is Jesus who is worthy, not the emperor, no matter how much power he claims. Jesus alone is to be praised.
Then, in verse 13, as if the chorus isn’t already big enough, “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them” join in singing. But they expand their song to include “the one seated on the throne,” who has already been praised in chapter 4. To that one and to the Lamb “be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!” To God and to the Lamb they sing.
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WHAT IS LEFT FOR US TO DO but to join in the worship? To join with the elders. Join with the winged creatures. Join with every creature to praise the Lamb. Praise for the one who is the Lamb that was slain. Praise for what Jesus has done for us. And praise for the one who is forever the slaughtered Lamb while still being the resurrected LORD.
That, my friends, is why we gather for worship. To collectively join our voices with voices of all creation, the heavenly hosts, the winged creatures, praising the One who is worthy to be praised, to glorify the One slain but risen, to adore with our hearts and our lives the triumphant Christ.
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WORSHIP IS NOT PERFORMANCE. The elders don’t sit quietly while the winged creatures sing. The fish of the sea don’t listlessly swim around while the birds of the air offer praise. The whole of creation sings and worships. All that is rejoices in the presence of the LORD, the victorious Lamb of God. Worship is devotion and celebration expressing our love of God and celebrating God’s love for us through Jesus Christ. In other words, worship is full of action! It is something to participate in, not observe.
And yes, God uses our worship to transform our lives, to heal our wounded souls, to renew our hope, to shape our decisions, to provoke change, to inspire compassion, and bind us to one another. Because our God knows the pain with which we live. The Lamb knows the sacrifices we make. The risen, victorious Christ knows and brings us victory.
• Struggles at work
• Marriages falling to pieces
• Dysfunctional families
• Worry about paying the bills
• Waiting for test results or having a health problem we haven’t told others about
• Struggles with addictive habits and behaviors
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WE ARE SINNERS, STRUGGLING in our relationship with God. Yet, in the midst of our life struggles, we turn to worship the only One who is worthy to take the scroll and open the seals — God’s plan for the defeat of evil and the full coming of God’s reign. The only One worthy of our praise.
— Keith Cardwell
