Revelation 5: The Cradle, the Cross and the Crown

Transcription

1 Revelation 5: The Cradle, the Cross and the Crown Revelation 5 Snug Gospel Chapel: December 20 th, 2015 Good morning. We re going to be taking a slightly different approach toward looking at the birth of Jesus Christ this morning. Many of you will be aware that I ve been preaching my way through the book of Revelation, in a series that I ve termed The Revelation of the King. This morning s sermon will be a continuation of that series, and in fact we won t even be taking a diversion from the passage that we re already in. Instead, we re going to be looking primarily at a single verse in Revelation Chapter 5, in a sermon that I ve entitled The cradle, the cross and the crown. What we ll explore today is the manner in which the concept of the kinsman redeemer ties all three of these elements together, and demonstrates that these crucial events in human history prove beyond all doubt the uniqueness and the supremacy of Jesus Christ, now and forever. Before we begin, let s come before the Lord in prayer. Let s pray. Father, as we open your Word this morning, I pray that your Holy Spirit would be free to move among us; to open our eyes to the things you ve written, and to open our ears to the words you would have us hear. I pray that you would take my fallible humanity and more it far into the background, that the incredible breadth and length and height and depth of your Word would come to the fore. I pray that today, you would enable us to see the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that we have never seen Him before not just as a baby, not just as a sacrifice, not even just as King but as the Lord of all history; that we might know that from beginning to end, and everything in between, you are the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. History and destiny are in your hands, and you are the Creator and Author of Life. You are the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. You are wonderful, counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Be glorified in us, and among us, this morning, we pray. In Jesus precious name. Amen. As I mentioned, this title of today s sermon, The Cradle, the Cross and the Crown is actually taken from just one of the verses we ll be studying today, but we ll give those verses their proper context, and read all of chapter 5 this morning. Turn with me to that, if you would. Revelation chapter 5, beginning at verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.

2 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth. 11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing! 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever! 14 Then the four living creatures said, Amen! And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. If you haven t been here for any of my previous sermons in this series, you could be forgiven for wondering what on earth you ve just heard. What we ve seen and heard here in chapter 5 is truly an alien experience; something so

3 entirely separate from our own experience that we re sometimes forced to strain to understand it at all. It s fair to say that for the vast majority of what we read in the Bible, we have some form of external reference. We can understand, at least conceptually, a virgin birth miraculous though that may be. We have a frame of reference for shepherds, for Magi, for mangers and cattle, for inns and stars. Here in this chapter, however, we re being introduced to creatures, beings and powers that we literally have no frame of reference for at all outside of the Bible itself: we have living creatures, we have a Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, and sometimes that kind of detail can be overwhelming, especially if you re new to the Bible. At this point you may be wondering what on earth any of this has to do with Christmas, and why on earth I would choose to preach on something that seems so obscure, particularly at this time of year. Well, bear with me because this morning we re going to embark on a journey that will take us from the throne room of God, to the cradle, the cross, and eventually, to the crown and we ll see that all of history revolves around this incredible baby, born in a manger on Christmas: Jesus Christ. Let s step into chapter 5, then. Verse 1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Now, on the surface of it, this sounds like a fairly simple statement, but if we take the time to look at the detail here, we find that this verse, and those that follow it, actually provide an overview of the entire span of God s plan of redemption and at the very centre of that plan lies the birth of Jesus Christ. Before we delve into those specifics, however, we need to understand what this document is, and why it s important. We see here in verse 1 that this is a scroll written inside, and on the back sealed with seven seals. Now, there are a couple of things that we need to be aware of here. The first is that this is no ordinary document. Part of this verse, we inherently understand. The document is sealed seven times over, in fact which reveals to us that the contents of the scroll are sensitive information. This is a scroll written for a specific purpose and for a highly specific audience. The second thing we need to note is that there is something unusual, in historical terms, about the way this document is written. You see, in ancient Israel, documents didn t normally have writing on both front and back of the page. The reason for this was simple - the parchment was smooth on one side, designed for writing, and rough on the other and there were in fact very few examples of documents written on both sides. The most notable exception to this is a title deed.

4 These deeds were written in a very specific way, and signed and sealed by witnesses. The writing on the outside was intended to designate the specific conditions that had to be met, or responsibilities that had to be agreed upon, by the one who was to open the scroll; and until the necessary terms were agreed upon, the document was to remain sealed. We have a perfect example of this in the book of Ruth which, if you take the time to study it, parallels the entire history of Israel, Christ and the Church in rather stunning detail. That s another sermon for another day, however and in terms of our study today, we find that Boaz, who has determined to aid Ruth in redeeming the land that had been owned by her deceased husband, finds that there is a closer relative who has a greater right to open the deed. In this particular instance, however, the requirement inscribed upon the outside of the deed is that the chosen redeemer must also be willing to marry Ruth and carry on the family line. This is a sticking point for Ruth s nearest kinsman, and so the inheritance passes to Boaz, who purchases the right to redeem the land, and marries Ruth. Look back at verse 1 again with this in mind. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals? 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. So, much like Boaz had to obtain the deed, meet the requirements stated on the outside, and agree to its conditions, so here we have another title deed, whose scope is reflected in the entire length and breadth of the search for its redeemer. When this scroll is revealed, clutched as it is in the hand of Him who sits on the throne, the search for the rightful redeemer takes place in just three specific locations: in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth. Why these three locations? Simply put, this is because the heavenly host are searching the entire length, breadth and depth of humanity: the dead in Christ, in Heaven with Him as we speak; those who live, here on the earth; and those who have died without Christ, under the earth. What this verse is telling us is that every man, woman and child in all of history was surveyed and none was found worthy to open the scroll or to loose its seals. It s important that we understand here that the scope of this search for a redeemer mirrors the scope of the entitlement of the deed. Just as the angels search the entire span of human history, so too the deed applies to the redemption all of mankind, the living and the dead, and all that has been placed under their control; that is, the earth, and everything in it. You see, when God created Adam and Eve, they were the very pinnacle of His creation. In all the physical world, no creature, no animal, no plant, no aspect of creation was so precious to God as that which he made in His own image. Adam and Eve were truly unique; blessed with a special relationship with God and made to reflect His glory. As such, God placed all of creation in subjection to Adam; freely, willingly, as a blessing. This is why we read in Genesis that

5 God gave Adam the mandate to fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth (Genesis 1:28). For this same reason, when Adam and Eve sinned, when they rebelled against God and chose to violate His only command, they forced all of creation, all that had been placed under them in the created order, into subjection to sin. Romans 8 says that because of Adam s sin, creation itself was subjected to futility, and forced under the bondage of corruption. Creation, it says, groans and labours with birth pangs together until now. It s important to understand this; important that we realize that this world in which we live, with all of its death, and decay, its heartache and horror, is the result of mankind s rebellion against God. Scripture says to us that creation itself was subjected to decay. It is for this reason that Revelation 5 begins as it does. Adam, a sinner, lost the right to hold the title deed to the earth. Instead, all of creation came under the kingship of sin and death. Decay became the crowned king of the natural order, and death took hold of the deed. And so it is that when the apostle John realizes that nobody, on heaven, or in the earth, or under the earth, is able to open this scroll and redeem the fallen earth, he weeps. We lose some of the power of this statement in translation; the Greek term used here refers to a violent sorrow in fact, it would be better translated that John wept convulsively, as he realized that there was no hope for the redemption of the world, because no one was deemed worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals. The world, and all that was in it is lost. but this brings us to the cradle. The Cradle God has never left mankind in darkness. In fact, even in the very beginning, way back in Genesis, at the garden of Eden, God the Father promised a redeemer who would crush the head of the serpent (that is, Satan) and break the power of the curse. We have echoes of this promise here in Revelation, too. Look at verse 4. But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. I want you to go back, in your minds, to the arrival of the Magi in Jerusalem. You may remember that the Magi had travelled far from the east, most likely from Babylon, searching the one who is to be born King of the Jews. Outraged

6 that anyone else should be considered King of the Jews, Herod gathered together the scribes and priests to elighten him. They replied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd my people Israel. The priests and scribes in Jerusalem were well aware of the prophecies from the book of Micah, and knew that the child to be born in Bethlehem would be a King. In this much, they recognized the first title that we have here in Revelation 5 verse 4. They knew that the coming Messiah would be the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. What they missed, however, was the fact that this King was also to be the Root of David. Now, on the surface that seems like a fairly simple concept. We often sing at Christmas Once in Royal David s City, and we re aware that Jesus, through both his mother s genetic line, and through his earthly father s, was a descendant of David. These genealogies are given in Matthew and Luke, respectively so we have no problem there. But what we can easily miss is the fact that roots don t come before plants, and Jesus Christ was not born before David. Turn with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter 11. We re going to read just the first two verses. Isaiah 11, starting at verse 1. There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. I ve chosen this verse to demonstrate a contrast to you. This redeemer, referred to in Revelation as the Root of David, bears a similar, but clearly different title here in Isaiah. This is Jesus Christ: The Branch. We need to understand what this implies. What these verses are saying, and what similar verses throughout Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah communicate to us is the fact that while Jesus Christ was born out of the line of David, He is also its point of origin. Jesus Christ is both the root of David, and the Branch that grows out of His roots.

7 This is what those beautiful verses in Isaiah 9 mean: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father These verses speak to the nature of the child to be born. He is eternal; He is Wonderful; He is God. This is one who is greater than Israel s greatest King, because He was before Him, and shall reign eternally after Him, upon the seat of David. This child, the child of promise, is an everlasting Lord before time, before David, before heaven and earth, He was, and is, and is to come. We ve seen this over and over in the book of Revelation so far, but the Old Testament, these prophecies ranging from hundreds to thousands of years before Mary and Joseph ever set eyes on Bethlehem, identify Him in advance for who He is the eternal Son of God: the one who would break the seals, open the scroll, and redeem mankind through His blood. Turn with me to the book of Luke. Luke, chapter 2, beginning at verse 1. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior (A Redeemer!), who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

8 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men! We so often wrap the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in such sentimental terms, that we miss the gritty, harsh truth of it all. Cast all of that aside, and look at who the child in this manger really is. This is not a silent night, nor is all calm and all bright. This is a time of chaos the Roman Empire rules the world, Caesar Augustus has called for a census, and Joseph and Mary are forced to abandon their home in Nazareth to return to their ancestral hometown in Bethlehem, more than 110 kilometers away. Upon their arrival, they are thrust not into a comfortable room at the Inn, but a filthy animal enclosure that history suggests to us was most likely a cave. and it is here, in the most unlikely of places, in a nondescript village in a dusty Roman backwater, in a night of chaos, various animal noises, shepherds with their flocks, filthy mangers and strips of cloth generally reserved for burial, that one is born who will declare Himself to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and earn the right to open the scroll and redeem mankind not by political means or by ascending to a throne reserved for Him; not even by a glorious demonstration of His power, but by humility, humiliation, and death. This brings us to the cross. The cross This should fundamentally change the way we view the Christmas story. Understand what is happening here. See the scope of it all see the plan, laid out before you, from creation to the cradle, from the cradle to the cross, as Jesus Christ, the timeless creator and King of the heavens, is born. Into a world of darkness, a world without hope, a world steeped in death and sorrow, steps One who is to the means to heal the wound that separates God from man, and buy back a broken world from Adam s mortal sin. Eternal God reaches down to fallen man to bear his immeasurable sin; One without beginning, born to heal a separation without end. This is Jesus Christ and He breaks into our bleak history with all the emphatic resounding glory of those angels singing in the hills and yet the glory and the majesty of His birth is not that of a King born in regalia, but a peasant, born in a filthy stable, surrounded by animals, on the outskirts of a tiny village in Israel. Oh, how I wish we could see and understand that we could look with unveiled eyes upon the face of the Son of God and see that the One who is more beautiful, more glorious, more powerful than anything we could possibly see or imagine, became this. This helpless child, wrapped in swaddling cloth, lying in a manger utterly dependent upon an unmarried mother and the man who stood by her side. This King, this Christ, declared in Colossians as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, by [whom] all things were created that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions

9 or principalities or powers, became nothing, Hebrews says, taking on the very nature of a servant, and coming in the likeness of a man. This is the glory of Christmas not in angels, in shepherds, or in Kings but in the fact that the God who forged universes and spoke light to the far reaches of space should be born, here, among men, in abject poverty and enveloped in human weakness; that He should take our humanity, the eternal God made mortal flesh, to bring us back to God. In fact, even in this very book, just a chapter ago, in chapter four, we saw the eternal King of Kings, enthroned in radiant light, worshipped by angels, adored by elders, glorified, magnified, lifted up in the assembly of the heavens and He, Jesus Christ, the Almighty, Crushingly Glorious Lord of All the Universe, took on the very nature of the creature He was born to redeem, and became a man born to live, and to die, to redeem all heaven and earth with the price of His precious blood. If Christmas is, for you, an opportunity to sing some carols, to look on the baby in the manger and to get that warm, fuzzy glow, then you ve missed the point. You ve missed the point, and you ve missed the opportunity to meet the King of Kings at His birth. because if we really delve into the story of what happened that night, that brilliant, blinding, earth-shattering night, wherein the God of all Creation became a child squirming in a manger, then how can we possibly avoid dropping everything to follow Him? This is your hope this is your saviour. This is your redeemer. This is why the angels sing it s why the shepherds left their flocks, why wise men crossed deserts because the child in the manger, the King on the throne, and the Christ on the cross, are all one and the same and you cannot kneel before one and deny the other. This is Christ the King, and in a universe where no one, in heaven, on the earth, or under the earth, is found worthy to open the scroll, He enters like a bolt of lightning into our darkness the Redeemer come to do that which sinful man never could and through His own blood, to reconcile us to God. That s my King. Turn with me back to the book of Revelation. Revelation 5, verse 8.

10 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, We talked a little bit earlier about the fact that this scroll, this title deed, would have requirements written on the outside that any potential kinsman redeemer would have to satisfy before breaking the seals. Here, in these verses, you can see what those criteria were. You see, it s not enough to Behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and to ignore the Root of David, the eternal Christ and King. It s not enough to look upon the child in the manger and to look past the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. This is the truth of the Christmas story: that Jesus Christ is not God s plan B for the recovery of a fallen world. He was, and is, and always has been the perfect Lamb of God, whose eternal future and destiny was to be born as a human child, to live, and to die at the hands of His own creation not in futility, but because by His blood, and His blood alone, He could satisfy the requirement of a holy God and reconcile us to Himself. Look at verse 9. You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For you were slain, And have redeemed us to God by your blood. This is why Jesus Christ was born. This is the purpose of the manger, and the point of His birth. In fact, it s even echoed here for us in the stories we ve just read. This child, this beautiful baby, wasn t wrapped in a warm blanket and held in his mother s arms: he was wrapped in swaddling cloth; strips reserved for burial. The wise men brought him gold, for a King, frankincense, for a priest, and myrrh a burial spice. They knew what His star represented: that One should rise out of Israel, born in Judah, in the town of Bethlehem, who would be Christ the Lord: A King whose solitary ambition was one long march to the cross, to buy the right to break the seals, open the scroll, and redeem mankind. Salvation came at a price, and was bought with His blood.

11 This was the life laid out for the beautiful child in a manger. The angels that sang that night did so because they knew exactly what this birth would mean. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. Glory, that Christ should come as a baby the incomparable King born as a helpless child. Peace, that Christ should come as the eternal offering for an immeasurable sin; And goodwill, that by His death He might break the seals, open the scroll, and reconcile man to God, for the glory of the Father. and this brings us to the crown. The Crown If you re perceptive, or if you re well informed, you ll have noticed a recurring theme throughout the passages we ve read today. It s a theme of Kingship. This is also the theme of the entire book of Revelation: that Jesus Christ is King. Born in the town of David, the heir to David s throne, the child born in the manger shall be King over all the world. The King of Israel, and the King of Kings. Look at Revelation 5 and verse 11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing! 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever! [g] 14 Then the four living creatures said, Amen! And the twenty-four [h] elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. This is the destiny of Jesus Christ: from the cradle, to the cross, to the crown. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and just as we saw earlier that no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, was found worthy to open the scroll

12 and to break its seals, so now we see Jesus Christ, scroll in hand, worshipped by every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and all that are in the sea, saying, blessing and honour and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever. Just as the prophet Micah promised that there would be a saviour, born in Bethlehem; just as Isaiah promised that this same child would die to bear the sin of the world, to reconcile God and man, so too he promised that this Messiah would be crowned as King, both of heaven and of the earth. For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. We ve spent just a handful of minutes this morning looking into these things, and there is so much more that could be said but hopefully, in this short time, you ve seen Christ Jesus, from the cradle, to the cross, to the crown. This is Jesus Christ, the light of the world, as the Bible presents Him. but the Bible is not just a series of histories, it s also a book of prophecy, and the God of the Cradle is also the God of the Crown who makes the end known from the beginning. Jesus Christ is coming again and this incredible book makes it abundantly clear that that time is almost upon us. The Christ born in a cradle is the same King coming back for His crown. The crux of it all is here in the book of Revelation, in the hand of the Redeemer who opens the scroll and breaks its seals. This is what sets Jesus Christ apart from every man, woman and child in history: that He, and He alone is worthy to do what no man ever could, and it is for this reason that He, and He alone, is our hope, our saviour, and our King because: [He] alone [is] worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For [He was] slain,

13 And [has] redeemed us to God by [His] blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. So this morning, as you look into the cradle, as we sing of Jesus, born in Bethlehem, remember this: that Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died to save sinners, and to redeem a people without hope. If you ve never given your life to Jesus Christ, if you ve never knelt before Him and asked Him to wash you in the blood of the Lamb, the blood that cleanses us from every stain and brings us near to God now is the time. Today is the day. Let s pray.