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.
Does anyone ever just have a rough day, rough moment, rough argument that just puts you into such a negative head space? Gosh I know I do. But once I turn my focus on my love for Jesus and put my faith and trust in him that he will provide, I am a completely different person. Thank you Jesus for always loving me and always being worthy!!
Throughout the Revelation readings we are shown how worthy beyond words our Father is and how worthy beyond words our Savior is. Yet, in Ezekiel, I continued reading further into it and the Father says to Ezekiel, in all His magnificent glory, “‘Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.’” (Ezekiel 2:1) to see how glorious He is and then to ask His servant, a sinner like me, to stand before Him, that is so astonishing to me. A Father who is so humble to speak to His lowly servant and to ask him to stand in His glorious presence. To me, this reveals so much of God’s character in such a simple way. A beautiful way. Thank You Lord for your goodness to us!!
Thank you for bringing this out! I will read the rest of the Ezekiel chapter!
It reminds me of these lyrics- “Come to the altar, the fathers arms are open wide, forgiveness was born with the precious blood of Jesus Christ…” -Elevation Worship. These words and these verses bring tears to my eyes, I will never not be stunned by the incredible sacrifice Jesus made. The Lord has saved us all and we are so unworthy. There is no thanks we can give besides to fearlessly follow the lamb who set a perfect path of righteousness for us.
❤️❤️
I am reading “In His Image” by Jen Wilkins. The first chapter is called God Most Holy. In it she quotes RC Sproul who said “ Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that he is merely holy, or even holy holy. He is holy, holy, holy”. Jen goes on to explain how this attribute impacts the other attributes. He is holy, holy, holy. When we apprehend his holiness, we are changed.
As I read the scripture this morning I was overwhelmed by His Holiness. Grateful and humbled by His sacrifice for us. The words in these passages leave me a bit breathless today.
Very cool thank you
Singing “Is He Worthy?” By Andrew Peterson this morning. Look it up! I love when songs use scripture so directly it helps me memorize the verses and repeat them throughout the day!
“Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David’s root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
Is He worthy? Is He worthy?
Of all blessing and honor and glory
Is He worthy of this?
He is”
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for sharing this with us!!
LOVE this song.
Same!!
Love Andrew Peterson!
That verse hit me the same way!
Reminds me of the song “Is He Worthy?” by Andrew Peterson:
https://youtu.be/OIahc83Kvp4
He is worthy! Amen!
I feel like I constantly ask myself “why me Lord? Why do you chose to love me and the rest of humanity, especially those who hate you?” I am so overwhelmed by Gods grace and unconditional love for not only humanity but for me. God thank you for choosing to love me despite all my flaws. Thank you for sending Jesus the perfect lamb slain to rescue me. I am forever in awe of you and your kindness.