Revelation 5:1
In the right hand of the one
sitting on the throne I saw a scroll[a] that had writing on the inside and on
the outside. And it was sealed in seven places.
******
I have a lot of interest in World
War II. I’ve read heavily about the Allied
effort in Europe, and a few years ago I had the opportunity to travel to
Normandy and walk on the beaches where the massive effort to liberate Europe
found a foothold. On those beaches, on
D-Day in 1944, hundreds and thousands of soldiers threw themselves against the
German wall in a coordinated attempt to take back what the Nazis had stolen by
force.
The true measure of an effective
war leader is not their ability to draw up a plan that will defeat the
enemy. The way we judge the leaders of
the troops is how they are able to adapt their plans when the enemy attacks and
everything begins to fall to pieces. Is
the leader able to regroup and refocus the troops so that they are able to
maintain their forward momentum and still capture the objective? Or does the actions of the enemy scramble the
carefully laid plans and prevent the troops from reaching their objective?
Today, I want to begin talking
about purpose. I want to talk about
overall objectives. See, I believe that
God acts with a purpose. I believe God
has a mission, what you may hear called mission
Dei, and that God has been singularly focused on this objective since the
beginning of time. What is God’s
mission? I believe God’s mission is to
gather all people to himself. This is
the purpose towards which God has been always acting. There is a great book called The Mission of God, in which Christopher
Wright begins in Genesis and moves toward Revelation, unfolding how Scripture
communicates this one singular theme, this Biblical arc in which God is always
moving. From God reaching out to Abraham
to God’s calling of the Israelites to God entering into the world in the person
of Jesus Christ, this is God’s purpose unfolding in human history. When human sin threatens to thwart God’s
action, God continues to reach out, offering forgiveness and new life, always
reaching out and adapting to the human condition. God’s love is not stopped by human sin.
So here, in Revelation 5, we begin
with John seeing the scroll in the hand of God.
One way to interpret this scroll is to understand it as God’s plan for
humanity, God’s overarching purpose, which will be fulfilled when the seals
have been broken and the scroll is unveiled.
This scroll is, quite literally, what we’ve always been waiting for.
From here, we move on to verses 2-4.
“I saw a mighty angel ask with a
loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 No one in
heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or see inside
it. 4 I cried hard because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or see
inside it”
******
Here, we move the focus from God’s
purpose to human sin. From the moment
Adam and Eve fell prey to the temptation to move beyond the role assigned to
humanity, our sin has been rampant in human history. Sin separates us from God, and sin prevents
the grace and love of God from flowing through us and into the lives of others. Sin is selfish, grabbing up glory for
ourselves when we ought to be selflessly laying ourselves down so that others
may see the glory of God shining through us.
Sin breaks relationships, between one another and between us and
God. Sin is personal, in you and in me,
and sin is systematic, causing breakdowns in how humanity relates to one
another. We see sin in the selfishness
of a child, and we see sin in the wars that divide nations and turn citizens
upon one another. We see sin in the
breaking of relationships due to addiction, and we see sin in the casual
disregard we cast upon the least of these as we seek to accumulate more for
ourselves. Sin is around us, and it is
in side us. Sin seeks to thwart the
promises of God.
John, here in Revelation 5,
recognizes that the reality of sin threatens the purposes of God. The scroll of God, the fulfillment of God’s
purposes in and for all the world, is sealed, and there is no one worthy to
break the seals and free the mission of God in the world. No one is sinless, and thus sin threatens to
conquer.
Here, recognizing the threat, John
weeps.
Here, there is a valuable lesson
for us.
See, sin is all around us. We’ve actually grown used to it. We grow accustomed to seeing the poor among
us. We’re so used to the reality of war
in our world that we tune out the devastation in Ukraine, the refugees in
Syria, the despair in Central America, the gang violence in America. We’re so used to the brokenness that
surrounds us that we become immune to it.
I saw it in myself in Chattanooga, when I was constantly bombarded by
the poor, that my heart stopped breaking for those who had fallen behind. I hardened my heart, and in so doing I joined
a long Biblical tradition.
When Pharaoh didn’t want to hear
God speaking to him through Moses, he hardened his heart. When the Israelites didn’t want to listen to
where God was calling them in the wilderness, they hardened their hearts. When the people didn’t want to listen to the prophets,
when Judas refused to hear the love of his Savior, they hardened their
hearts. They stopped listening to where
God was calling them, and God’s purpose could no longer flow through open
conduits, but had to find other ways to enter the world.
In Hebrews we hear the urge not to
harden our hearts. In Revelation, we see
John weeping for the ways sin has threatened to prevent God’s purpose from
unfolding.
I urge you, brothers and sisters in
Christ, do not harden your hearts. When
you see brokennjess and sin in the world, let it break your heart. Recognize what is happening, and weep for the
sin in the world, because in this way, when we feel the impact of sin, we
recognize how important it is, and then we can be led into being part of the
solution.
What is the solution?
Here, we keep reading:
5 Then one of the elders said to
me, “Stop crying and look! The one who is called both the ‘Lion from the Tribe
of Judah’ and ‘King David’s Great Descendant’ has won the victory. He will open
the book and its seven seals.” 6 Then I
looked and saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne that was surrounded
by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb looked as if it had once
been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of
God, sent out to all the earth.
7 The Lamb went over and took the
scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. 8 After he had
taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders knelt down
before him. Each of them had a harp and a gold bowl full of incense,[e] which
are the prayers of God’s people. 9 Then they sang a new song,
“You are worthy to receive the
scroll and open its seals, because you were killed. And with your own blood you bought for God people
from every tribe, language, nation, and race.
10 You let them become kings and
serve God as priests, and they will rule on earth.”
11 As I looked, I heard the voices
of a lot of angels around the throne and the voices of the living creatures and
of the elders. There were millions and millions of them, 12 and they were
saying in a loud voice, “The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, riches,
wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and praise.”
13 Then I heard all beings in
heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea offer praise.
Together, all of them were saying,
“Praise, honor, glory, and strength
forever and ever to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”
14 The four living creatures said
“Amen,” while the elders knelt down and worshiped.
****************
What is the solution to the problem
of sin?
There is only one answer. Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of all, is the
answer. He, and He alone, can atone for
sin. Only Christ is able, only Christ is
worthy, only Christ can make the required sacrifice to repair the breach sin
has caused.
When we try and substitute any
other solution, we take the honor that belongs to Christ and try and give it to
someone or something else.
Friends, Christ alone is
worthy. When we go out into the world,
we can only begin to work to heal the damage of sin if we listen to Christ and
let the love of Christ flow in and through us.
We must fix our eyes on him and his redeeming and saving love, and in
doing everything we can to purge sin from our own lives, we allow Christ’s love
to flow in and through us to heal us and the community around us. Sin is real,
and it is breaking the world, but God will not allow it to thwart his overall
purpose, and that is to gather all people to himself. God longs to forgive, to heal the pain sin
has caused, and when we recognize sin’s power and it’s real effect on the
world, when we allow our hearts to be broken, we can then begin to join with
God in being part of the solution.
God has not called us to sit idly
by. We, whose hearts should be broken by
the poverty and brokenness around us, are called to join with Christ in being
part of the solution. Christ sent the
disciples into the world to proclaim the truth of God’s redeeming love, and
you, too are sent. The challenge for
each of us is twofold:
Where in the world, in your
community, in yourself, is sin breaking through, threatening to thwart God’s
redeeming love working in you?
How can you join with Christ, in
your worship and in your service, to make your life an effort of co-creating
the Kingdom the God here on earth, healing the brokenness and letting the power
of the Lamb flow through you, leading you to a life of selfless service, rather
than idleness?
Let us pray
