Covenant of Redemption Fulfilled
Revelation 5
Revelation may be the most fascinating book in the Bible. In it we are given a glimpse into the throne room of heaven and a foretaste of what is to come, but also an overview of the history of humanity and our place with the spiritual kingdom we can often sense but normally not see. We see God on his throne surrounded by fantastic creatures worshipping him, confessing their allegiance, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” We see a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain.
We remember John the Baptist saying about Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” David Bast writes, “That is an imperative. Behold him; look at him; look at him. This is God in our world. This is how God is God in our world. This is what it means to be God. It means to have your hands bound and your feet bound and maybe nailed to a cross, and like a lamb, your throat is cut – in this case, maybe it is a spear in the side – but in all of that weakness and suffering and sacrifice and death, the life and power of God is there. So look; look at him; this is who he is; this is how he is…. the Agnus Dei: Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; have mercy on us, grant us your peace.”
There’s so much imagery here from the Old Testament pointing to Jesus as the Messiah; there’s the scroll of destiny echoing back to Psalm 139. There are strange images that echo back to Ezekiel, Daniel, Genesis and other books. This Lamb is first referred to as the Lion of Judah in Genesis when Jacob blesses Judah, but it looks like a lamb that has been sacrificed, deliberately pointing to the sacrifices of Israel, especially the Passover lamb, reminding the people how God saved his people from slavery, pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross, the moment that changed the history, setting it on God’s path as revealed here in Revelation.
John’s overwhelmed with what he sees. Then his eyes are drawn to the person sitting on the throne and John notices a scroll in his right hand with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. John knows this scroll is the book of God’s decrees. The story on this scroll is a long and crowded story and needs both sides of the scroll to tell it. It’s sealed with seven seals like a Roman will, only to be opened when the legal representative appears. The seals tell us this is a scroll filled with secrets, secrets only God himself knows. Now they’re waiting for the one who can open the scroll.
A mighty angel calls out in a loud voice. It carries through all creation, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one’s found who can open the scroll and John weeps because it looks as if God’s plan can’t move forward. He weeps because the world has moved so far away from God that there’s no one left that God can reveal his secrets to. John senses that the people have become so focused on themselves that they’ve left God behind. He weeps because he knows that this means pain, hurt, and loneliness for the world.
The elders turn to the Lamb, to Jesus. Jesus is able to take the scroll and open it, “because you were slain, and with your blood purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The image John gives us here is of a slave market where people go to buy slaves. This is a business transaction, treating people like livestock. This is a common image for John’s readers. The slaves come from defeated nations, or are people who’ve fallen on hard times and can’t pay their bills and so sold into slavery, or people who deliberately sold themselves into slavery so they could be sure of eating everyday.
The purchase price isn’t money, it’s blood; it’s life itself. The Lamb buys these people from every nation, tribe, and language at the cost of his own life blood, “with your blood purchased people for God.” We’ve been bought to have life, even though Jesus didn’t need to buy us. We sold ourselves into slavery by allowing Satan and our own hearts lie to us that we are free when we listen to them instead of God. Jesus paid with his blood for people who should never have been slaves; he paid the blood price for rebelling against God, all so that we can experience freedom. The term used also means ransom; meaning Jesus paid for what’s already his.
Jesus is able to reveal the secrets that are in the scroll and carry out the plan of God written in it. He’s more than just a Lamb. This Lamb has seven horns which are horns of power. There’s no one more powerful than the Lamb that was slain and then raised up to the throne of God. This Lamb has seven eyes. There’s nothing it doesn’t see happening on the earth, under the earth, or in the heavens above. There are no secrets hidden from him; he sees everything, including what the devil does in the darkness.
The Lamb takes the scroll from his father’s hand. The heavens erupt in adoration. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall to their knees in front of the Lamb. They carry golden bowls filled with incense. These are our prayers. They’re so precious to God that they come to him in precious bowls, through the fragrance of incense, making them pleasing in all ways. They’re carried to him and offered as part of the worship of God. Our prayers that seek relief from pain and suffering, looking for God to come and carry us through the valleys and deserts of our lives, are priceless and brought before God.
The reason we’ve been purchased is “to make them, us, a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and to reign on earth.” Those people Jesus bought with his blood are us; you and me and all those people God is calling to become his children, to become followers of his son Jesus. Peter puts it this way, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
God takes us from slavery and gives us a new identity by making us a new kingdom who are connecting people between God and humanity, which is what the priests’ role is. God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us be priests and grow God’s kingdom through telling others about the new life that’s possible in Jesus and inviting them to be part of it by following Jesus. This is done in a context of praise, which is why coming together as God’s people on a Sunday is important to who we are, but also important in showing the world who we are.
Pentecost is the moment where God equips us to be kingdom builders; turning our focus towards the world, fulfilling the charge to Abraham to be a blessing to all the nations. Jesus gives us his Spirit to remind us of what we’ve been taught in order to reassure us, but also to challenge us to go out and share the good news of Jesus with the world; a world God loves so much that he sent his only son to die so that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved from their sin. God’s so generous in his love that he wants the entire world to know of the new life he offers and his desire for everyone to come to him. Paul writes Timothy, “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” In the Old Testament, God tells Ezekiel, “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.” Peter writes, “The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
God allows John to see a picture of the Lamb who’s won the battle against sin and gives us the confidence needed in the times to come; filling us with a hope that will never fail because Jesus is King over all creation. The future’s in Jesus’ hands. Jesus is directing his Father’s plan written on the scroll; preparing everything for his return when everyone will see that he is king and every knee will bow and confess that he is Lord and all God’s covenant promises are completely fulfilled.
