Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Revelation 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Since Jesus only appeared on a few occasions to His disciples, following His resurrection, and since He ascended some 40 days after His resurrection, there is not much written about Him in His state of exaltation.
- His victory over our enemies of sin, death, and the devil, were remarkable and astounding – and the glory due to Him for all that He endured for us is immense. However, we do not see much of it described in the time immediately after His resurrection and prior to His ascension. This is somewhat surprising!
- But in our text, and in the rest of the book of Revelation, Jesus was seen by John and he describes and details Christ’s awesome glory! We do well to take these descriptions to heart – and to rejoice in them greatly! For the One Who was slain, and Who rose again, is truly worthy of all thanks and praise, worship and adoration!
- We see in our text that:
I. Christ Is Worthy Of Worship And To Receive All Authority And Ascendance
A. This Is Because Of His Wondrous Redemption Of Us
Text: “Worthy is the Lamb . . . for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God.”
B. It Is Also Because All Kinds Of People, With No Exclusions, Have Been Ransomed
Text: “from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
C. He Is Worthy To Receive All Honor And Adulation
Text: “Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! . . . to Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.”
D. And He Alone Is Worthy To Orchestrate The Final Events Of The History Of This Present World
Text: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals.”
Statement: All of the magnificent heavenly beings, and all humans gathered in heaven are agreed: Christ is worthy and deserving of all honor and accolade! There is no one more glorious, more deserving of our thanks and praise, more deserving of power and authority, than our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is marvelous to us, for there is nothing in this for us to fear or to be intimidated by. This glorious One is our Savior, Who died for our sins!
Application: So we do have opportunity – right now, and prior to His return in great glory and grandeur on the Last Day – to contemplate His glorious accomplishments for us, and to glimpse at just how glorious He truly is! And this is a great privilege and honor for us to do, for as we see in our text:
II. All Creatures Praise Christ Forever And Ever
A. All Angels And Heavenly Beings Praise Jesus
Text: “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.’”
B. All Creatures In Heaven And Earth Praise And Glorify Jesus
Text: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them, saying, ‘To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
C. Then All Worship Him
Text: “And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Statement: Jesus told His disciples that on the Last Day He would come in all of His glory, with His holy angels with Him, and that He would sit on the throne of His glory – to judge all people. That will be a great and awesome time of blessing for all of God’s people. The dead in Christ will rise with glorified and immortal bodies, and the bodies of believers still living will be changed into glorified immortal bodies!
Application: So that we know what to look for, these descriptions of the glorious Lord Jesus have been given to us in Holy Scripture! We will not be fearful or intimidated, for we will recognize the One Who is our great Redeemer and Savior! And we will be giving Him glory and honor just as we do here and now in this world! And oh, how beautiful and blessed that day will be for us, and for all who know the Lord Jesus by faith!
Conclusion: It seems odd to me that there were not great revelations of Jesus’ glory during the final 40 days of His earthly presence with His disciples. I’m sure Jesus had a reason for this. It may seem odd that God does not reveal His glory more straightforwardly to us today! But the reason is likely this, that His suffering and death to redeem the world, His resurrection victory, and His precious Word and Sacraments are of paramount importance. No appearance of glory can enhance these blessings from God, but such glorious things might interfere with our appreciation of them.
He does show His glory through His Word, the Bible, as we have seen this morning! And He certainly will on the Last Day and forever! We know what He has done for us, and so we also proclaim “WORTHY IS CHRIST THE LAMB,” our great Savior and Benefactor! And we rejoice that He “has made us a kingdom of priests to our God.” And we rejoice that we “shall reign on the earth.”
Thanks and praise be to Jesus, forever. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.