Jesus is worthy

Jesus is worthy of honour and glory. He is worthy of praise. He always has been worthy of honour, glory and praise but when He died on the cross and rose again He showed how worthy He is. And in Heaven everyone is far more aware of this than on earth because those who live there know more than anyone else how their very presence there depended on Jesus doing what He came to earth to do, die on the cross in punishment for our sins. So when they saw Jesus as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King and kings and Lord of lords they also saw Him as the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

And John who saw the vision of this when he was a prisoner on Patmos island for his faith in Jesus would soon afterwards been with Jesus and a part of those who worship Him. John's presence in Heaven would also have been dependant on Jesus dying on the cross because if Jesus had not died none of us would be able to go to Heaven.

So let's read what John saw in his vision in Revelation 5. 

Then I saw in the right Hand of Him Who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in Heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if It had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven Horns and seven Eyes, which are the Seven Spirits (or the Holy Spirit) of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right Hand of Him Who sat on the throne. And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your Blood You purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: "To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

It is very hard for us to imagine just how beautiful, majestic, awesome, holy, bright and wonderful God is. Yet Jesus gave up all that glory to come to earth to die on the cross in punishment for our sins. That, amongst innumerable other things, is why He is worthy to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise. John saw Jesus as King. He also saw, no doubt, the holes in His Hands and His Feet and the gash in His Side. Which is what we will see and it will always remind us of what Jesus did for us. It will remind us that we were only allowed into Heaven because of Jesus. It will remind us of how worthy Jesus is.

"To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!”   

Hebrews 4  

Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.^[Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in My anger,
    ‘They shall never enter My rest.’

And yet His works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all His works.” And again in the passage above He says, “They shall never enter My rest.”  Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it 'Today.' This He did when a long time later He spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: 'Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts.' For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;  for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the Eyes of Him to Whom  we must give account.   Therefore, since we have a great  High Priest Who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4 - we are doing a series on Hberews which you can access on the page Jesus in the Book of Hebrews

God told the Israelites through Moses that He would lead them to the promised land which was where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had lived. If you recall, Jacob's sons sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery in Egypt where he afterwards became second only to Pharoah. There was a drought which lasted seven years and he brought his father and brothers into Egypt. But after Joseph died the Israelites were not regarded well in Egypt and Pharoah tried to get rid of them. God raised Moses to lead them from their lives of slavery and miraculously brought them out of Egypt.

God promised them that He would take them to Canaan and give them the countries there but they kept complaining aginst God and worshipped a gold calf they persuaded the brother of Moses, Aaron, to make. God told them in the end that none of them would go into Canaan though their children would. In the end it took forty years to travel into Canaan, a journey which would only have taken a few months. So the original people who were saved by God from slavery in the land of Egypt did not enter the promised land because of their disobedience. We read in Hebrews 3 how God said to them,