Gospel Connection
When the Lamb (who is also the Lion!) took the scroll, a short song was sung:
Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:9–10)
That song might sound complicated, but the ideas in it are simple—and super important. We praise Jesus for the good news that he alone is holy enough to open the sealed scroll. And that he alone made the blood sacrifice on the cross that set sinners free from our slavery to sin. More than that, Jesus’s death turned unholy people into priests. We don’t make sacrifices in the temple, like priests in the Old Testament did. We sacrifice ourselves by giving our whole lives to God (see Rom. 12:1–2). And we don’t do this alone. No, Jesus has gathered in his kingdom people from every nation around the world and throughout time. That’s a big kingdom! That’s a good kingdom. That’s the perfect kingdom that every follower of Jesus will live in someday. That makes me want to shout and sing to our amazing God.