Jesus Is Worthy | Revelation 5

On this week’s Sermon Notes Podcast, Senior Pastor Jay Strother and Brian Ball take a closer look at Revelation 5. John sees a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It’s written on both sides and sealed with seven seals, a picture of God’s complete plan for history. An angel calls out, “Who’s worthy to open it?” Brian points to the Greek word axios, which asks who has “the moral standing, the rightful authority, the qualification to approach almighty God, take the scroll from His hand, and set the future of the world in motion.” No one can. Not Noah, not Moses, not David. John weeps, because if the scroll stays sealed, God’s promises go unfulfilled and evil never answers for what it’s done. Then an elder tells him, “Behold.” The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered. John turns and sees a Lamb standing, though it had been slain. Jay calls it the great secret of history: the Lion would become the Lamb. Jesus didn’t lose His life on the cross. He laid it down, and then He stood again. Heaven doesn’t stop the Lamb from taking the scroll. It breaks out in a new song, first around the throne, then among the angels, and finally across all creation.

Jay and Brian talk through three ways this vision changes how we live. First, it gives us unshakable hope. Jay knows this personally as he battles cancer. “How can I stand on Sunday morning and raise my hands in the air and declare that Jesus is King if I don’t believe that?” he asks. “He’s bigger than the cancer.” He’s seen God use even his treatment to open doors, including opportunities to share the gospel with a new medical worker at the cancer clinic. Brian adds that fear is really ascribing power and authority to something, and Revelation 4 and 5 show us exactly where all power and authority live: on the throne and in the Lamb.

Second, the vision calls us to unwavering holiness. Our God is unlike any other, so His people are set apart for a purpose and follow the way of the cross. Brian notes that our lives back up our words, and that’s often what makes people ask why we live the way we do. Third, it sends us into an uncompromised mission: engaging the whole person with the whole gospel of Jesus Christ, anywhere, anytime, with anybody, until every tribe, language, people, and nation has heard. The coming chapters of Revelation get darker, but Jay reminds us, “The darker the night, the brighter the light.” The Lamb is still on the throne. Listen to the full episode to hear more about the Old Testament imagery behind Revelation 5 and why all of heaven sings, “Worthy.”