Articles
He Is Worthy!
In the book of Revelation, John records a vision he had seen of heaven and the throne of God, where he saw a lamb standing in the midst of the four creatures and the 24 elders around the throne. When the lamb [i.e., Jesus] took the scroll out of the right hand of God, the creatures and the elders “fell down before the Lamb,…And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:6-10). Then John saw and heard “the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5:11, 12).
We sometimes sing a song with the title "Worthy Art Thou," that is based on this passage, restating the words John heard sung in that vision. When we sing that song, we are singing and saying the same thing they did: Jesus is worthy “to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” But do we know why they sang those words, and why we sing those words? Let us consider, for a few minutes, some reasons why He is worthy of such praise and honor and blessings from us.
He Left Heaven To Come in the Form of Man. Paul reminds us that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). He set aside the glory and honor worthy of being God and willingly chose to live on this earth as a man. He was born in a stable and laid in a feed trough (Luke 2:10-16), and was raised as the son of a carpenter (Mark 6:3) — not exactly high society or a position of honor and glory!
Paul reminds us that Jesus, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9); He left everything that we might have everything! He died that we might live! He became poor that we might become rich! Why would Jesus do all of this? Because He loved us and desired our salvation. Not just anyone would give up so much just to be rejected, humiliated, maligned, and scorned, but He did it all for us. We were unworthy of His sacrifice, but He is worthy of honor!
He Lived A Sinless Life. Jesus lived His earthly life as any man would, facing human experiences such as hunger, sorrow, anger, weariness, and joy, but He also faced the human experience of being tempted, and the Scriptures tell us “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). The writer also tells us “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same… Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).
Jesus, as God, could certainly have known what all men go through in facing temptation without having to come and live as a man does, but He willingly chose to experience it firsthand — to face those temptations as every man does. But then He rejected those temptations. Every one of them. He could then be the perfect offering for our sins — a sinless sacrifice. For that, surely we can see He is worthy of all glory and honor!
He Died For Us. In that scene in John's vision of heaven and God's throne, John saw and heard the four creatures and 24 elders sing of the worthiness of Jesus to open the scroll because He was slain (Rev. 5:9). That alone should be sufficient reason for all people to praise Him and exalt Him and give Him all honor and glory, for there is not a one of us who lives without sin (cf. Rom. 3:23; Eccl. 7:20), and we were all, as a result, worthy of death (Rom. 6:23). In such a state, man had no hope!
But Jesus, because He loved us, has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). While we were worthy of death, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). God loved us while we were sinners (cf. John 3:16), but He sent His Son to die for us that we would not remain in sin, but be delivered from it and made righteous by the precious blood that was shed.
He Redeemed Us By His Blood. That death was not merely an exercise in demonstrating God would keep His word, but a sacrifice that had to be offered for the sins of all mankind. For those who had sinned against God [i.e., all men], Jesus willingly gave Himself as the redemption price that had to be paid for sin, for we could offer nothing.
Paul reminds us, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Eph. 1:7). He also reminds us Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). This freedom from sin's bonds could not be broken without His blood being shed, and let us never forget we were not redeemed “with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). For that, He is worthy!
He Has Made Salvation Available To All Men. Under the Old Law, it was only those who were the descendants of Jacob [the Israelites] or those who became as a Jew [proselytes] who were promised the blessings of God's care and provision. Now, under Christ, by His death He “has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross” (Eph. 2:14-16). The gospel message — the story of how the Son of God came to earth and died for our sins — is the message “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6). Now, in Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). If there were ever a need for unity among the people of this world, now is the time and means for that to be accomplished — in Christ. As long as men refuse Him, there will be disunity and strife. But because He provided the means for unification of all men, we can rightly say He is worthy!
Now, whether or not we acknowledge these things as true, it has all been done by Jesus for us. Having done these things for us, He can rightly be called worthy of all honor and glory — and worthy of our service. But do you recognize the honor He deserves? Is He your Lord? —— Steven Harper
