Morning Sermon

November 11, 2007

The mystery of life

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When I was a junior in high school, I selected a number of possible colleges to attend, and one of those was Virginia Tech. It had the engineering department I was looking for, and I knew I wanted to head south to escape the rugged western New York winter weather. But I didn't know much else about the school until I visited, but I knew from my first impressions that it would be the school I would attend. I simply loved the surroundings, the beautiful mountains and the small town setting.

There was only one thing that set me back on that first visit. The mascot. As I drove onto the campus with my father, I saw in large letters upon the top of Lane Stadium the words, "Home of the Fighting Gobblers." So there I was, an active high school athlete, considering a college who had chosen for their mascot a turkey. And those were the days before Hokies became the official mascot. We were turkeys, and proud of it.

Most other schools pick names with a triumphant aspect to them. The wolverines. Trojans. Seminoles. Lions, tigers or bears. Bulldogs, cougars, coyotes, eagles, or jaguars. Maybe some schools would be a bit less triumphant, with penguins or terrapins, but gobblers? It's no wonder the mascot has been changed in recent years to a Hokie, whatever that is.

Mascots play an important part in our national spirit, and they are important in the biblical revelation of God as well. God reveals himself with a mascot, as it were. A representation of himself. And with our attention shifting to a clear focus upon Jesus himself, it is not surprising that we have the image of a lion,

v.5 "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David."

But we find a much more surprising mascot here as well. A much more unexpected image for the triumphant king who sits upon the throne as the ruler of all heaven and earth. Not of a lion, the symbol of strength and triumph, but of a lamb. Of all the possible college mascots in use today, not one college has utilized the image of a lamb, for their is nothing at all triumphant about a lamb. And so we have a symbol of helplessness and weakness. A symbol of vulnerability, and at that, the lamb is slain. The symbol is of a dead lamb. It is he who has the answer to the mystery of life. It is he alone who can solve the riddle of life. It is he alone who can make sense of our human existence and destiny. He has the answer to the meaningless of life. He has the answer to the hopelessness and despair of life. He is the one whom God reveals as the solution to the perplexed grief and spiritual trauma that John feels within his soul as he sees the scroll of life in the right hand of God.

v.1-7

Let's begin this morning with a study of that scroll.

I. THE SCROLL. What is this scroll, and what does it represent? That's the first question we have to answer. In the broadest sense, it is the meaning of life. It is the book upon which the circumstances of life are recorded. It is the plot, written down and recorded, for all of life.

Most especially, that means that it is God's plan for all of life. God's purpose. God's counsel. God's eternal plan, his all-comprehensive degree. As one commentator writes, "It symbolizes God's purpose with respect to the entire universe throughout history, including all creatures in all ages and to all eternity."

We know from Scripture such a plan exists in the mind of God.

Eph. 1:4 "...in love, 5 [He] predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will...9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself...11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."

That last phrase is the most clear. Our salvation came about in this way, "according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will."

So the scroll represents "the counsel of His will."

A. The scroll represents the eternal purpose and sovereign plan of God. The closed scroll, sealed with seven seals, indicates that God's plan is unrevealed and unexecuted. Thus, "to open that scroll by breaking the seals means not merely to reveal but to carry out God's plan." (Hendriksen)

In that day, scrolls were written on both sides and unrolled, very likely "sealed in such a way that their contents were successively revealed as each separate seal was broken." (Thomas) So as the scroll is unrolled, the seals are broken and the eternal purpose of God is made known. And more importantly, put into effect. The image comes from,

Is. 29:11 "The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, "Read this, please." And he says, "I am not literate."

But let me go one step further in terms of identifying the scroll, in terms of understanding God's eternal purpose and the counsel of his will. What is the focal point of that eternal purpose? What is it, that God intends to accomplish according to the counsel of his will? You don't need to guess at the answer, nor engage in much of a debate, for we know from Scripture that God actually created the world in order to reveal the mystery of his grace. As Paul writes in,

Eph. 3:8 "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord."

You see, the eternal purpose of God was redemption. The eternal purpose of God was that plan and the counsel by which he would show forth the fullness of the glory of his grace by the redemption which he accomplished in Jesus. That is the reason given why God created the world! And thus the essence of that eternal purpose was the promise of his covenant, the promise of the covenant of grace, "I will be your God and you will be my people." So that is what the scroll represents.

B. The scroll represents the declaration of God's covenant purpose. Notice again verse 1. The scroll was written on both sides. And sealed with seven seals. It is worth noting that the use of seven seals was the common method of creating and executing a will, a testament. As one writer notes, "When a testator dies the testament is brought forward, and when possible opened in the presence of the seven witnesses who sealed it; i.e., it was unsealed, read aloud, and executed."

So those seals take the place of the notarized signatures required for the execution of a last will and testament today. The will is put into effect when those seals are validated by a court of law. That is what was happening here. The word for covenant is the same word for last will and testament, so that by the opening and loosing of these seals here in John's revelation of Jesus, God's covenant purposes were being declared and put into effect. In other words, this was the full and final inauguration of the New Covenant. In David Chilton's words, "The Book is nothing less than the Testament of the resurrected and ascended Christ: the New Covenant."

You might remember that the Old Covenant was put into effect with a book inscribed on the front and the back as well. That was accomplished at Mt. Sinai.

Ex. 32:15 "And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets."

That was the inauguration of the Old Covenant. Here in Revelation 5 we have the inauguration of the New Covenant. But there is such an obvious problem, one that brings John to tears. The message of the angel is, indeed, a grievous announcement. v.2

Who can announce God's plan of redemption? Who can execute God's own covenant promise and bring redemption? Who can accomplish redemption? In other words, who can atone for sin? Who can fulfill the conditions of the mediator of the New Covenant? Not Moses. Or Abraham or David. None of them could take away sin. The Jewish High Priest wasn't able. Certainly the sacrifice of animals was unable to take away sin. Chilton concludes, "No one could be found to guarantee a better covenant. With the prophetic yearning and sadness of the Old Covenant Church, St. John began to weep greatly. The New Covenant had been offered by the One sitting on the Throne, but no one was worthy to act on behalf of both God and man to ratify the Covenant. The seven-sealed Book would remain locked."

C. The scroll represents the need for one to implement God's covenant plan of redemption. v.3-4

But there is hope! v.5

Indeed, that is what happened. v.7

So it is that here our focus is placed upon Jesus.

II. THE LAMB. The lamb can open the scroll. The lamb can be the mediator of the New Covenant.

Heb. 8:6 "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises."

Heb. 9:13 "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

Look at how the Lamb is revealed to us in verse 5. He is,

A. The Lion of Judah, the Root of David. There is a clear reference to Jacob's blessing of his sons in,

Gen. 49:9 "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people."

Thus it was through the tribe of Judah, descending down to King David, through whom the blessing of Abraham would finally come to the kingdom of Israel. But it was David's greater son who is most clearly in view. Not David himself as the king, but his descendant, King Jesus.

Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise to David is the very subject of the first sermon after Pentecost, when the gospel would go to all the nations of the world. Quoting Psalm 16, Peter declares,

Acts 2:25 "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' 29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 "he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' 36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

But why the "root of David?" Wouldn't it be the "branch" of David? The descendant of David, not his ancestor, as is implied by the identification of the root. Well, we know that David's son was actually David's Lord. Jesus is the beginning and the end, and as the beginning, he is the root of David!

This is an image of conquest and glory, and notice that word "prevailed" in verse 5. The Lion of Judah has prevailed! He has won the victory. He has triumphed gloriously.

Go back to, Rev. 3:21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

And how has Jesus' overcome? How has be conquered and triumphed? It was in completing the work on earth which his father gave him to do!

Col. 2:13 "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

And so the descriptions used of Jesus in, v.9-10

Beloved, the cross of Christ was a triumph. The shedding of blood was a victory. A triumph for the Mediator of the New Covenant, who is, therefore, because of that triumph, worthy and capable to be able to open the seals of this book of the covenant. And yet, in seeming contradiction, he is,

B. The lamb that was slain. This is the very heart of Christianity. This is the very heart of the gospel. The lion is the lamb. Jesus the triumphant king is also the suffering servant who lays down his life for his sheep. He laid down his life as the propitiation for our sins, the atoning sacrifice that satisfies the wrath and justice of God. The lamb without defect.

And so John the Baptist introduced Jesus with these words, John 1:29 "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Indeed, beloved, 1 Peter 1:18 "...you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

This is what Jesus accomplished, our eternal redemption. Our salvation. And he accomplished that by submitting to death!

Phil. 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

And so the lamb has seven horns, a sign strength and power. The lamb that was slain has won the victory!

He is also a lamb with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Jesus knows all and sees all, filled to the utmost completion by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore-that's what you always have to come to-therefore, what shall we do? Therefore, since the lamb is worthy to open the seals and inaugurate the new covenant which was established in his own blood; therefore, since the King is hereby established upon his throne in this glorious coronation, how do we respond?

By this point, the answer to that question is easy. It is obvious. Just look at the text. It is what this whole chapter is about. These verses are not a matter of doctrine and knowledge, they are all about worship. The point is not that the lamb is worthy to open the seals and inaugurate the new covenant. The point is that because he is worthy, we ought to worship him!

III. WORSHIP THE LAMB. Because it is a new advancement in the eternal purpose of God, because it is a new and more explicit announcement of the grace and truth of God, we have a new song to be sung! v.9a

They sang a new song, with music! Specifically, here the harp is mentioned. v.8

So that is,

A. The content of our worship. Singing. What the writer of Hebrews calls "the sacrifice of praise." But notice also in verse 8, not only the harp but also the "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." So our worship consists as well with our prayers, described as the incense of the Old Covenant worship which was of such pleasing aroma before the Lord.

The content of our worship is designed to bring him pleasure. And surely his greatest pleasure comes when we fully and rightly acknowledge,

B. The object of our worship: Jesus. The new song of our worship is clear, its content is clear. "Worthy is the lamb." We sing praise to him, ascribed that worth to him, and that is the very origin of our English word for "worship." It comes from the Old English word "worthship," which means to ascribe worth and glory. It means to declare and proclaim the worth and glory of someone else, who then obviously becomes the object of our worship.

Such is the content of the songs of our worship, that we ascribe worth to God, and in the new song of the new covenant, we ascribe worth to Jesus himself. So don't let me merely explain all these words and give you understandable explanations for what they mean. Don't let me merely read through these verses as a matter of discourse or as a lecture in a classroom. No, these are words of worship, words to be sung. Words to stir your heart to a deeper and more affectionate delight in the God of your salvation. For this is how God's own eternal plan of salvation is to be accomplished, as Jesus will reveal it with the opening of these seven seals.

Thus, we join in with the four living creatures, representing all of God's creation. And we join in with the 24 elders, representing all of the church Old Covenant and New, and we sing a new song. With them all we affirm all that is said with that word of confidence, AMEN.

Yes it is so. Jesus is worthy. Jesus is able to be the mediator of the New Covenant. So let it be. I agree. AMEN. v.14

People of God, let us join in this new song to Jesus. v.9-10

It continues, v.11-14

Amen.

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