The next few chapters in our study of the book of Revelation take us to heaven and the throne room of God. In the midst of the throne room, Jesus is presented to us in His role as the sacrificial lamb of God on the cross. He is the Lamb who purchased us by His death on the cross. I'm taking the liberty of jumping ahead to Chapter Five of Revelation because it is Communion Sunday, which is the time we stop and reflect on the redemptive work of our Savior. We’ll revisit Chapter four in a few weeks.
Revelation 5:9 — And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,”
Imagine a box so tightly packed that its contents are ready to burst out. The moment you cut the tap that is keeping the box closed, all the contents burst out. That is the view we should have with this verse. It is ready to explode in brilliant truth and glory. Let’s look at the central theme that it holds.
“Worthy are you to take the scroll, … for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God.” This speaks of Jesus Christ and directly references the Cross of Christ. It says of Jesus Christ, “Worthy are You.” This word, worthy, should be viewed as “deserving.” Jesus Christ deserves the right to take the scroll and break the seal of the scroll and open it.
No one else in heaven or earth is worthy to do this. Christ Jesus alone. We read in Revelation 5:1–5,
Then I [the Apostle John] saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
Why, or how, is Jesus Christ the only one worthy, that is, the only one deserving to do this—take the scroll from God the Father and open its seals? The answer is in our text of Revelation 5:9, for/because He was slain. It is because of what He did on the cross. It says about Jesus, “by Your blood” which refers to His death on the cross. Not his literal blood, but the giving of his life unto death. It was his sacrificial death.
What did He do on the cross through his death? The verse answers that for us. “… you ransomed people for God …” The word “ransomed” means he rescued us by paying the penalty and the consequences of our sin. And not just our sins, but the sin that Adam brought us into by his sin. (Romans 5:12).
To sum this up, we see worship to Jesus Christ because he alone deserves to take the scroll and open its seals, because he alone is worthy.
When my children were young, we went on a family vacation to the Luray Caverns. A guide took us on a tour of the deep caverns, and it was unbelievable. We were led deeper and deeper into the caverns, and the deeper we went, the more marvelous the sights. So it is with the depths of the mystery of the Cross of Christ. As your tour guide, we are going deeper into the mystery of the Cross of Christ. We are going to go deeper into the worthiness of Christ.
Have you ever considered the question, What made Jesus Christ worthy/deserving to die on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins? Before Jesus could go to the cross, He had to do something, something to be an acceptable sacrifice. To be an acceptable sacrifice for mankind, it was more than being a man. What did he have to do that made Him a worthy and acceptable sacrifice?
Philippians 2:8–9 — “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,”
Why was Jesus highly exalted above everyone and everything? It says, His perfect obedience. Before Jesus went to the Cross, he met the requirements to be the sacrifice for the people of God. He had to meet all of the requirements of a perfect sacrifice. Yes, that included being truly human, which he was, and it meant fulfilling all the requirements to be the perfect sacrifice. What were those requirements? Fulfill the Law of God perfectly. No sin and no slip-ups; no failures and no faults. He fulfilled the Law of God completely, perfectly. Live the perfect righteous, holy life, according to God. Perfect obedience to every detail.
What do I mean, “The Law of God”? Thirty-three years of perfectly keeping all of the Law of God as outlined under the Old Covenant. Kept daily, hourly, minute-to-minute before God the Father. This was in actions, words, and attitudes, as well as his purpose, which was to rescue God’s people.
“The Law of God” refers to the moral and sacrificial laws that God gave to Israel through Moses. Do this and don’t do this. God set his standard of perfection. Deuteronomy 26:16 says, “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” And if they do not keep them, we have the consequence stated in Deuteronomy 27:26, “Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’” This “curse” is the consequence or result of breaking God's perfect law. It is the punishment.
Did you notice in Deuteronomy 27:26 that the law is not merely outward obedience? You keep them with all your heart and soul. That is the mind, will, and emotions. You could say it is required that you keep all of the laws of God with a joyful heart. If you were grudgingly obedient, you are not keeping them in the heart, which is where your life comes from. That’s drilling deep. No sarcasm towards God, no “I’ll do it but I shouldn’t have to”, no coveting what another person has; not a lie or deception. Always having God as the first place in your mind, will, affections, and actions?
Keeping the laws of God has great reward, but failure brings cursing from God. Deuteronomy 28:1–2, “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
Then God pronounces the punishment of failure to obey God. Deuteronomy 28:15, “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.” And if you continue to read the chapter, there is a list of curses/punishments.
Could Israel keep all the Laws of God? Could anyone keep all of them? No. That means, Deuteronomy 28:15 is what we deserve. Everyone from Adam and Eve has sinned and missed the mark of God’s holy and perfect law. That is, until Jesus Christ. The only one who came and lived a life that perfectly fulfilled every detail of God’s holy standard. He is the only man who is blameless.
Then you are reading your Bible and come across Galatians 3:13–14. It says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.” The quote is from Deuteronomy 21:23, stating, “for a hanged man is cursed by God.” Death is due to the breaker of God’s laws. Not just physical but also spiritual death. The light comes on, and you say, “I deserved the curse/punishment of Deuteronomy 28:15 and 21:23. Jesus deserved all the blessings of life with God because of his perfect obedience. He went to the cross to take my curse and became that cursed one by hanging on the cross!”
Jesus went to the cross without any sins for those who were under the punishment of the law of God. This makes sense of 2 Corinthians 5:21, “He who knew no sin, became sin, that we might be the righteousness of God.”
We return to the question stated earlier: What made Jesus Christ worthy/deserving to die on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins? Perfect obedience to the Law of God. Perfect obedience even to the point of death on the cross. Remember Philippians 2:8, “And being found in human form, he [Jesus Christ] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jesus’ perfect obedience was a necessary step to redeem you from sin and unto God. He had to live a sinless, perfectly righteous life. He had to, in order to be a spot lamb—an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. He knew He had to. He said this (Matthew 5:17), “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus living out the perfect law of obedience for our sakes is called “The Active Righteousness of Christ.” He “actively” lived a holy, righteous, and obedient life, keeping every requirement in His heart, mind, words, emotions, and actions for the purpose of redeeming us who justly deserved punishment for our sinfulness.
As perfectly righteous, he went to the cross and was the perfect sacrifice for your sins. He could pay the debt of your sins because he had no debt of his own. He could take your punishment for your sins because he had no punishment of his own. He could swap records with you because his record was not like ours. He took our criminal record and exchanged it with His perfect righteousness. This is called “The Great Exchange.” He exchanged his record with ours, our record with His.
His perfect life of righteousness doesn’t save you or forgive you. But it was necessary to make Him a worthy and perfect sacrifice to die for you, to save you, to offer eternal life with the Father God.
To help grasp the greatness of this “great exchange”, we’ll listen in on a conversation (fictitious of course) at the entrance of heaven. There is a person talking to the Gate-Keeper in heaven. I can hear some of what they are saying.
“Yep, that’s my name. And you don’t have to read the log list of my sins. Just the number of times I have hurt someone in my thoughts would keep us here all day. Oh, and under the category of Lies, that is just as long. They are tied to the hate and pride in my heart. Just go ahead and say it. I know what I deserve. I know that I cannot enter here.”
“Ah, I’m looking and I don’t see anything you’re talking about. In fact ...”
“But I know it has the account of me yelling and cursing at …” “Nope, no such account is here.”
“Okay, but there is that time I manipulated my way to get what I wanted, and it really hurt some people.”
“Nope, nothing here like that.”
“Okay, I remember when I was younger and reckless and I …” “Sorry to disappoint you, but there is nothing here.”
“What do you mean by 'there is nothing here’? You need to look closer.”
“I mean, your record is clean. Here I’ll show you. See, the only thing written on your record is, ‘The Righteousness of Jesus Christ - Without sin, holy, blameless, above accusations. My perfect righteousness has been credited to this account. Signed, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Brothers and sisters of faith, that is a picture of the great exchange! That is what happened on the Cross! Jesus deserves the title, “The Lamb of God.” He was spotless, innocent, sinless, and if you have put your faith in Christ, that he did this for you, then you now have his spotless record credited to your account.
The great leader of the Reformation, Martin Luther, is known for his lectures on the book of Galatians. He began by saying, “I do not seek [my own] active righteousness. I cannot trust in it or stand up before the judgment of God on the basis of it. Thus I … embrace only … the righteousness of Christ … which we do not perform but receive, which we do not have [ourselves] … but accept [HIS], when God the Father grants it to us through Jesus Christ.”
How should this affect us? If you are trying to get good enough for God, you can rest. Jesus was good enough for you. Put your trust in Him. If you are judging someone for not being good enough, spiritual enough, or religious enough, you can give it a rest. Jesus was good enough for them, too. See His Death on the Cross as enough. If a person has put their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, no matter how messy it is, Jesus was good enough for them.
When the devil tells you that you are not good enough to be a child of God, or not good enough for the kingdom of God, you say, “That’s right. But it’s not me, it’s my Savior Jesus Christ. He made me a child of God! It is His righteousness I stand on, live in, and will be clothed with throughout eternity.” And say it with boldness and assurance!!
This is called grace. We are saved by Grace, not by our own “active righteousness.” He was the sinless sacrifice, and his perfect life was given in death that you may live with God forever. We are free to live with God. To worship God together. To celebrate the worthiness of Jesus Christ together. And as it is in heaven (Rev. 5:12), we say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
Jesus deserves the title, “The Lamb of God,” the “Perfect Savior.” Amen!
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