Read Revelation 5:1–14
How would you describe the greatness of what Jesus has done in your life and in all of creation? I am not just
talking about what Jesus has done but the magnitude of it. How would you capture the fullness of how worthy He is to receive all praise, glory, and honor? If you want a pretty good place to start, you do not need to look any further than today’s passage. It might surprise you if you look closely, though.
In verse 5, the elder says, “the Lion…has conquered so that he is able to open the scroll.” Based on that description, what do you expect John to see next? If Jesus is a lion who has conquered, surely now is when we will start to see Him as a general on a white horse with a sword in his mouth. Instead, we get the exact opposite of our expectations. John sees a slaughtered lamb, not a roaring lion. If we are not reading carefully, it is easy to miss that contrast and how it informs the rest of the passage. The songs of praise focus on Jesus’ death and the effect it had.
So, back to our original question: How do we describe the greatness of Jesus? According to John, we have to
begin with the humility of Jesus. We have to focus on how the Son of God is a worthy king and a conquering lion, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead
he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had
come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6–11).
