Worthy is the Lamb
“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts 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 that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:11-13
The Apostle John was selected by God to be the one who would record the events of the end times as revealed to him by God’s angel in a vision. In this particular scene, the scroll of all that would occur during the period of tribulation had just been placed in Jesus’ hand, and then the angels, the four beasts, whose descriptions are found in Revelation 4:6-8, and the elders began to praise the Lord. Their number was over 100 million. Can you imagine that sound to the human ear? Their praises ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ seven attributes or qualities of which only He has the right to claim because of His perfect obedience to the Father in His willingness to lay down His life for His Father’s creation.
The first attribute was power, that is, all authority to rule over heaven and earth. When Jesus came to earth the first time and began His ministry, the Pharisees and other religious leaders questioned His authority. They refused to believe that it was God who gave Him such command over disease, evil spirits, and the spirit of the law (Matthew 21:23). When Christ returns, everyone will submit to His authority, even those who rejected Him. The second attribute of Christ is His right to riches, that is, an abundance of all that is good. Jesus was with the Father when God made the world (Genesis 1:26). It has always belonged to Him, but He allowed Satan a limited freedom to walk among the inhabitants of earth as the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), who works in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. One day, though, Satan will be banished forever, and the abundance of the earth’s bounty will again belong to the Lord. Wisdom is the third attribute. It was the wisdom of God that led Christ to the cross. No other sacrifice could have completely and forever satisfied the justice of a holy God. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed to be relieved of the coming pain and torture that He would face, but, in His wisdom, He knew His death on the cross was the only way to defeat Satan and make possible eternal life for all who would believe in Him.
The fourth attribute is strength. I can’t imagine the strength that it took to submit to death for the sins of mankind. Jesus hung on a cross and watched people gawking at Him, hurling accusations, gambling for His clothes, and saw the anguish on His mother’s face. It took a strength that none of us know to not come down from the cross, wipe out His enemies, and embrace His mother. He is indeed worthy of the strength of the world because He triumphed over death. Honor is the fifth attribute. No one deserves more honor that the Lord Jesus Christ. No one has done what Jesus has done, laying down His life for even the most wicked and vile sinners to give them an opportunity to repent, believe on Him, and have eternal life. The greatest honor that we can do for Him is to give Him our lives. Jesus said in John 5:23, “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honours not the Son honours not the Father which has sent Him.”
The sixth attribute or right that Jesus deserves is the right to glory, that is, adoration, worship, and praise from every creature that has ever lived or will live on earth. Our human vocabularies are not sufficient to define the glory which belongs to Christ. His glory is truly beyond human description. The seventh right that Christ deserves is blessing. When we say “God bless you” to someone, we are asking God to give His attention to the person in the way of health, happiness, peace, joy, and love. It is calling on God to favor that person. I am not sure that most people understand the phrase that way. It is more or less just a phrase that people say. However, when we truly bless God, we acknowledge His superior worth as above all creation, His sovereignty over all nations and peoples, and His absolute right to receive all honor, respect, and love by every creature upon earth. When we bless God, we are desiring for Him to impart divine favor upon Himself. So be it.