One of my sons’ favorite bedtime stories is The Sword in the Stone. As a child, I grew up watching the animated version of this tale, in which a lanky, awkward boy named Arthur unwittingly prepares to become king. Set in twelfth century England, the legend describes a country in turmoil, where the king has died without an heir to take his place. In order to resolve this dilemma, a wizard named Merlin places a sword in an anvil with the following words inscribed upon it: “Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise King born of all England.”
As the story goes, plenty of strong men and mighty warriors attempt to remove the sword, but every one of them fails. That is, until Arthur. This young, scrawny, misfit approaches the sword and is able to pull it from the anvil, finally restoring order to the kingdom.
The legend of Arthur is only a myth, but it echoes a story that is not. In chapters 4 and 5 of Revelation, we encounter a similar scene, but in place of a sword we have a scroll (5:1). We don’t know what exactly is inside the scroll, but New Testament scholar N.T. Wright speculates: “We rightly guess… that it contains God’s secret plan to undo and overthrow the world-destroying projects that have already gained so much ground, and to plant and nurture instead the world-rescuing project which will get creation itself back on track in the right direction.”
Much like the sword in the stone, what is significant about the scroll is not simply what is inside of it, but Who is able to unseal it. Like the sword, there is only one who is worthy to unleash its power. That chosen one, we soon discover, is Jesus—the “Lamb,” the “Root of David,” the “Lion from the tribe of Judah” (5:6,5). Christ alone can initiate God’s plan to rescue and redeem the world.
That is how the two stories are similar. This is how they differ:
In The Sword and the Stone, Arthur does nothing to earn the title of king. Although legend holds that he was secretly a royal heir, Arthur’s worthiness (much like Abraham, Moses, and David) comes solely from the fact that he is chosen for the task. He does not earn it, and he does not deserve it.
Christ, on the other hand, is a different kind of hero. He is not simply plucked from thin air. Instead, the Lamb is worthy for two important reasons. First, He is worthy to redeem the brokenness of the world because He is the only one who did not contribute to it. And second, He is worthy to rescue humanity because He purchased us by His blood (5:9).
Unlike most of our favorite heroes, Jesus was not chosen in spite of Himself. Even our greatest heroes, our noblest heroes, our most perfect heroes are still only a shadow of the Hero we have in Christ. By virtue of His identity and by the power of His blood, He alone is able to open the scroll and initiate God’s plan to redeem the world.
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65 thoughts on "The Lamb Is Worthy"
Revelation 5:10 “You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth”. What a BEAUTIFUL and COMFORTING promise. Thank you Father God. ❤️
The idea that we will see clearly our unworthiness but hold with it He who is worthy. That’s such a comfort.
Our culture has it wrong. For all their effort and loud discourse, church and state cannot be separated. God rules over all. He alone is sovereign. It matters not that so many dismiss the idea that He exists. It matters not that the world marginalizes and ridicules those who believe in Him and His Word. He will have the final say. He will open the scroll in heaven and all will be set right upon the earth. It will not go well for those who so arrogantly set themselves up as the arbiters of truth. Daily for them I weep. Jesus is the Truth. There is no other. It matters but if voices banter about “my” truth or “your” truth. There is one Truth and He is Jesus. We have the living Word in our hands and it tells us the Way for each of us to walk through the open door into heaven. Yet there will be many who will continue to shake their fists in His face – to their great peril. Fists are shaking now, in our streets, in our courts, in our homes. We weep. And we continue to speak the ever unpopular Truth because only Jesus saves. Hell is real and it is awful. Heaven is real and it is glorious. Oh sisters, let us press on and pray for revival while there is yet time.
Amen!
AMEN!
Gloriously true
Amen. Such wise words. Thank you.
Hallelujah!
Yes. Prayer is the only thing we can do to get us through to the end. Praise God! That’s what is so necessary and vital in our churches. Pray for your Pastors and Staff leaders. Pray like you were playing the most exciting football game where you had to give it your BEST to win. But not just your best, your ALL to win. Our pastors need your prayers. Can you imagine what they could lead our congregations to do if they were prayed over with such vigor, excitement, and power through the a Holy Spirit. Can you imagine the temptations they face as human men could be averted if you would just pray for them. Set your pastors on fire with your prayers. Satan enjoys destroying the life of pastor’s. He lives to tear your pastor’s families apart or splitting a church in half as a result of a pastor’s sin. So pray for your pastor’s and the churches they lead because the alternative is to see Satan at his best destroying our churches. Do you pray for your pastor’s?
AMEN!!
A powerful word, amen!
Amen.
In chapter 5 verse 4 after John realizes that no one in heaven or on earth is worthy to open the scroll, he weeps. It’s like, in that moment he feels that all hope is lost, humanity is doomed. But then, & oh how glorious, my Jesus steps forward. HE IS WORTHY. Praise Him!
“Arthur’s worthiness comes solely from the fact that he was chosen for the task.”
Some serious words of comfort and confidence right there…God chooses and decides, we obey.
Lord, may I be confident in the strength you have given me today to accomplish your tasks and your purposes.
Revelation 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne,
He was slain – Thank you Lord Jesus for your sacrifice – for even me.
The truth of that and His love for us is overwhelming and humbling. He is so worthy and we are so not.
This made me think of the song “Defender” by Francesca Battistelli. Part of the lyrics says, “All I did was praise. All I did was worship. All I did was bow down. All I did was stay still.”
This is my prayer for today. I pray that my day will be spent in praise and worship even in the midst, especially in the midst of the craziness of the last week of school. I humbly and willingly bow down and acknowledge His worthiness to reign on the throne of my life. Help me to stay still today – to rest in the truth that You alone are worthy and You have got all of this under control.
Love love love that song ❤️❤️
Yes! If Christ is the only one worthy of such things in these passages, then who am I to continue to try and manage and control my day to day world so tightly. He’s worthy of me worshiping and trusting and following. Praying that I too, can spend today in prayer and worship, instead of in a reactionary place seeking control.
Praise be to Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, and the true lover of our souls. He is coming again to end and complete His great redemption plan and undo all of what sin and brokenness have done to His beautiful creation. Come, Lord Jesus, come.