Worthy Is The Lamb

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

Rev 5:1-14

Intro: Rev 5:1

The school has a calendar with “Red Letter Days”. First day of school, testing, holidays, Final Exams, and the Last Day of School.

There are many important days on the Heavenly Calendar that are “Red Letter Days”. Creation, the Flood, Israel Delivered, Birth and Death of Jesus Christ, the Rapture, the 2nd Coming, Judgement Day, etc. We will look at one of those “Red Letter Days” today.

Picture this: The Rapture has just happened. All Heaven has witnessed the sinful decadence of the world for countless centuries, the rebellion against God, and Satan’s continued assault on God and the world. The martyred believers in Heaven have been asking “How long O Lord until you judge the earth?” The angels have been waiting for the moment in time that Jesus will pour out His judgement upon the evil world. In chapter 5, that moment is fast approaching.

The Lord Jehovah is sitting on the Throne and holding a book (scroll) that has 7 seals. The opening of the seals of this scroll will set in motion the 7 year period of Tribulation when God pours out His wrath upon the Satan and sinful man that has rejected Him.

A. THE SEARCH FOR ONE THAT IS WORTHY. (5:1-4)

1. Rev 5:1-2

The time is right for the Scroll to be opened and the judgement of the Tribulation to begin.

But who will open this scroll?

The angel asks “Who is worthy to open it?” Only One of sinless perfection and worth would have the divine right to open the seals.

ILL- King Arthur releases Excalibur from the Stone.

In Arthurian legends, King Uther was a selfish warring king that destroyed his own kingdom by taking a duke's wife by magical deception. That Duke was killed in battle as the affair was going on. Some of the other dukes rebelled against him and cornered him to kill him and take Excalibur, the sword of kings. As Uther was dying of a mortal wound he stabbed the sword into a large stone and exclaimed "If I can't have Excaliber, no one can." The other knights tried to free Excalibur but could not. Merlin the Magician spoke out "He who pulls Excalibur from the stone, He shall be king."

After that, each year the knights of the land would gather and hold tournaments to win the right to try to free Excalibur and become king. One year, a squire had lost his knight's sword and went looking for it. He stumbled upon Excalibur in the stone and merely touched it and it leaped from the stone into his hand. There was an uproar, but just as Merlin had said, the sword could only be freed by the only one worthy to do so.. Arthur was that young squire and it turns out, he was actually Uther's infant son that was taken into hiding 2 decades before. So, Arthur had the pedigree of a king and he had the pure heart that the nation needed in her king.

Similarly, the angel is seeking the One who is worthy to open the Scroll.

2. Rev 5:3

The response is silence throughout Heaven. No one that has ever lived, no angel, no created being is worthy to open the seal.

3. Rev 5:4

Here, John may not know exactly what is going on in this Heavenly scene, but he realizes it is of great importance. He knows God has a plan that He is about to execute, but there is no one worthy to open it. He begins to weep in despair that God’s will is blocked. He doesn’t realize that the angel’s question was rhetorical. All heaven knew that there was no one worthy to open it except for One.

B. THE LAMB IS WORTHY. (5:5-10)

The elder tells John to stop weeping because there is One that is worthy to open the Scroll. Of course, it is Jesus. But the question before us is:

Why is Jesus worthy to open the scroll?

1. Because of Who He is! (5:5-6a) Jesus is referred to in 3 ways and each way speaks to His worthiness to open the scroll.

(1) The Lion of Judah. Gen 49- This is a Messianic title that references the prophecy that Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah and be the all-powerful and everlasting King.

(2) The Root of David- Is, Jer, gospels. Title that says Messiah will be/is a descendant of King David. Both of the first 2 titles refer to Jesus as King.

(3) The Lamb of God-

Jn 1:29 calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins and mine so that we could be saved.