Sermon: Sunday, 20th April, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Revelation 5
Easter Sunday
If there is no God and no life after death, it’s impossible for people to find true meaning and purpose in their lives. Life just seems like a cruel game of chance; we are born and then live for a relatively short time, experiencing all kinds of suffering and difficulties and then we die. As humans, we instinctively know there must be more to life than just eating and drinking and trying and often failing to enjoy ourselves. If all there is is the material, life feels so empty and pointless.
History is not going anywhere. We can get away with most of our evil actions as we are not accountable to anyone. There is nothing and no one to live for. Clearly, some people are dissatisfied with this lack of meaning and purpose and are looking for answers. I was pleasantly surprised to read the report from the Bible Society which said that in England and Wales there has been a sharp rise in young people attending church.
‘This dramatic growth is owed largely to younger generations. In 2018, 4% of the 18 to 24-year-olds reported that they attended church monthly, compared with 16% in 2024. For men, this increased from 4% to 21%, and, for women, from 3% to 12%.’
That’s so encouraging. Some are looking for meaning. Some are thinking of life’s big questions: why are we here and what happens when we die?
Last Sunday morning we considered John’s vision of the throne in Heaven in Revelation chapter 4. The image of an occupied throne is one desperately needed today. So many are taught that the here and now is all there is and there’s nothing beyond what we can see. However, God provides the apostle John with an open door, through which he can see that chance, chaos and meaninglessness are not what lies at the centre of the universe. In fact, this world has been made by an almighty and good Creator, who rules from his throne in Heaven. The Lord is in ultimate control, not human dictators or politicians, and history is unfolding according to the purposes of God. Not only is this God transcendent and all-powerful; he is also merciful and forgiving and we can enter into a relationship with him through Jesus Christ.
However, John’s vision does not end with a throne. The vision continues into chapter 5. God has a lot more to tell us. Yes, God created the world and keeps the world going giving us life and breath, but a lot has happened since the creation. During the time of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world through their disobedience to God’s simple command. And through sin, our relationship with the thrice holy God has been broken, as has our relationships with one another. Human beings, made in God’s image are capable of great acts of love and altruism and yet we also commit evil acts on a daily basis. The world is in crisis. There is war and greed and mental and physical health problems and lying and stealing and all kinds of brokenness.
GK Chesterton once entered an essay competition where you had to answer the question: What is the problem with the world? Let me read the whole essay: ‘Dears Sirs, I am. I am what is wrong with the world.’ This is the truth of the matter. Like Chesterton, I am a sinner who needs God’s forgiveness. If you can admit that, you are well on your way to enjoying the true meaning of Easter.
If we are to find meaning and peace in our lives we need more than the image of God on his throne. We need a way for our dirty sins and guilt to be dealt with. We have rebelled against our Creator and have gone our own way like wandering sheep and we need someone who can put this right. We need peace with God. Does God have a plan to deal with the wrongs in my life and yours? Does he have a plan to overcome evil and death and the power of the Devil? The answer is yes! And God unfolds his plans for human history through these pictures in Revelation chapter 5. If we can understand the gist of these pictures we will find thrilling truths about what God has done and will do with this broken world. In the plan of God, after creation and the Fall comes redemption and re-creation.
1. A sealed scroll which no one can open
‘Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.’ (Revelation 5:1)
What does this mean? What is this scroll sealed with 7 seals? God the Father is on his throne and in his right hand, the hand symbolising authority and power, he holds his plan for human history. It’s unusual for writing to be on both sides of a scroll but this tells us of the detailed nature of God’s plans for all of his creation. I believe this image of the scroll is much-needed today because it reveals to us that life is not meaningless or based on chance, but is actually under the sovereign control of the one living and true God who has a wonderful purpose for his Creation. The 7 wax seals are like God’s own signature. What he has decreed is sure to come to pass.
But there’s a problem. No one can be found who is able to open the scroll. This might seem unimportant to us, but John understands how serious this is (verse 4) as he weeps and weeps. He knows an unopened scroll would mean that God’s plans to bless his people cannot be carried out. There’s no one able to deal with sin and death and Satan. There’s no one who can deal with our problem of guilt. If there’s to be any positive future for the human race, someone must be found who can be the channel through which God’s purposes can be achieved.
Poythress: ‘The destiny of the church and of the universe hangs in the balance over the question of whether someone can open the scroll.’
This is a moment of high drama. John holds his breath. There’s a sense in which the entire universe holds its breath. Even from amongst the great 24 elders, there is no one who can deal with human sin and bring restoration between God and humanity. Will God’s plan of salvation be thwarted? Will they come to nothing, like many of our own human plans which begin with good intentions but then fade away? None from the myriads of angels is able to answer the challenge. It reminds me of Valley of Elah, when Goliath comes to challenge the Israelite soldiers, but all remain silent and the situation seems desperate and hopeless. No one is able to take on and defeat Goliath. Here, no one, it seems, can deal with human sin and its devastation. No one can conquer the giant of sin.
2. The one worthy to open the scroll
John’s weeping soon turns to joy and wonder.
‘Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ (Revelation 5:5)
There is hope after all. There is one who can open the scroll. Out of all those in the universe, Jesus and Jesus alone is able to put things right. That’s what we celebrate every Easter and every Lord’s Day. But this ‘worthy one’ is not referred to as Jesus here. He is given three other names. Let’s work through them so we can understand this triumphant worthy figure.
• Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. (verse 5)
This goes all the way back to God’s promise to Jacob in Genesis.
‘You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse him? The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.’ (Genesis 49:9-10)
This is a magnificent prophecy and promise in the very first book of the Bible. From the line of Judah, a king will come to whom all the nations of the world will give their allegiance. He will be a lion, speaking of his strength and power and majesty. This is the Messiah, God’s promised king who will rescue fallen humanity. Jesus is that strong and regal lion. Jesus will destroy our enemies.
• Jesus is called the Root of David.
This name also stems from the Old Testament; in Isaiah chapter 11, someone is identified to whom the nations will rally and who will be full of the Holy Spirit. As well as being a descendant of David, mysteriously this One must also precede David, because the root of David must come before David himself. This speaks of the fact that Jesus is eternal. He has always existed. He is God. He comes from David’s line in his humanity, but precedes him as God.
This is thrilling. There is a lion-like Saviour who is going to put things right! There is hope for humanity. But then there is a twist. The elder calls John to ‘see’ this lion of Judah. However, when John turns, it is not a lion he sees but a totally different image.
• Jesus is called the Lamb who was slain.
‘Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.’ (Revelation 5:6)
John is looking for a majestic king but what he sees is a Lamb which has clearly been slaughtered, and yet this Lamb is alive, standing at the centre of the throne, the place of rule.
This is the Easter story. God could not save the human race from its sinfulness and rebellion through weapons and soldiers. Instead, someone worthy would have to become human, and die in their place, paying for the sin which separates humanity from God. Jesus died on Good Friday for our sins. But he did not stay dead. He rose on the third day, ascended into Heaven and right now Jesus remains there on his throne, yes as the conquering Lion but also as the Lamb.
Poythress: ‘This visions sets forth in dramatic form the central paradox and mystery of the Christian faith. God achieved his triumph and delivered his people, not through the fireworks of military might, but through the weakness of crucifixion.’
What is God saying to us through these animal pictures in the Bible? They are not to be taken literally, of course. God is saying that Jesus is both a lion and a lamb. He is indeed a lion who with great power destroys the power of Satan, sin and death. But he is also the Lamb, and this picture speaks of the way in which he destroys Satan and sin and death – he does so by his sacrificial death on the cross. No one forces Jesus to die the awful death of crucifixion. He voluntarily lays down his life for others. This is true strength and true love. Jesus is the lion and the Lamb. He is the King and he is the Saviour. Can you say Jesus is your Saviour and Lord?
3. The Lamb who was slain – a closer look
When the people of Israel were waiting for their Messiah king to come and rescue them, most of them got it wrong. They were hoping for a political rescue from the imposed rule of Rome. But the Messiah would be spiritual Saviour who would rescue us from something far more serious than foreign occupation: our own sin. But if the people had known and understood their Bibles better, then they would have seen how much they needed someone else able to die in their place.
In Isaiah we read a prophecy of what would happen to the Rescuer.
‘He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.’ (Isaiah 53:7)
And even before this prophecy, we need to remember what happened during the Passover. In Exodus chapter 12, the angel of death is killing the firstborn sons of Egypt, but for the sons of Israel, there is one way to be protected. A passover lamb can die instead of them, and if it is sacrificed and its blood was painted over the lintels of their front doors, they would be protected from the angel of death. The angel would ‘pass over’ their homes. In other words, for the sins of Israel to be dealt with, a lamb dies instead of them. This act was a signpost to the future when Jesus, the true Passover Lamb would die for our sins.
‘Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.’ (1 Corinthians 5:7)
Let me be clear – no one else can deal with your sins and bring you into a right relationship with God. You cannot deal with them on your own. You cannot make up for them. You need God to deal with them. You need to repent by turning away from your sinful life and trust instead in Jesus’ death on the cross. Only by his death can we be saved from our sins. Victory comes through sacrifice. The victorious Lion conquers through sacrificing himself as a Lamb for us.
4. The Lamb who is worshipped
We don’t have time this morning to unpack the marvellous songs given to Jesus in this chapter. But let us see the main thing here – the proper response to Jesus is worship. He is supreme as both Creator and Saviour. True worship always honours Jesus and to worship God you must worship Jesus.
I got a hand-written envelope through the front door yesterday marked ‘Good news’ and got excited for a moment. What could it be? Actually, it was a letter from a Jehovah Witness inviting me to a Bible study. The thing is, Jehovah Witnesses believe Jesus is just a creature to be honoured but not God to be worshipped. But God’s Word reveals the worship he receives in Heaven, not just from the 24 elders, the cherubim (verses 8-10), but from a wider circle of beings, millions of angels (verses 11-12), and finally from the widest circle of creatures possible.
‘Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!
Friends, when Jesus comes again, everyone will worship him as the King of Kings – all of creation. But for some it will be too late. What do you worship? Is it money? Is it pleasure? Is it your family? What is the one thing you cannot do without? That is your god. That is what is most important to you. For the Christian, Jesus is most important to us. We worship him because in his love.
‘…with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.’ (Revelation 5:9)
Why does it say ‘purchased’? Because all humans were slaves to their sins and wrong desires. A price was needed to free these slaves, and redeem them. Jesus paid this price with his own blood. How could be not worship him for that? He is the Lamb who was slain, but rose again on the third day. Now he reigns supreme from the control centre of the universe which is in Heaven. he is described in this way:
‘The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.’ (Revelation 5:6)
Horns are an image speaking of power and majesty. Seven is the number of completeness. Jesus has total majesty. The seven eyes are God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is all-seeing and all-knowing. He is God, and so we worship him. Worship the servant-king, the Lion and the Lamb. Worship Jesus, the only true God, full of might and mercy, fierceness and forgiveness.