What am I worth? (7)
The Perfect Example of True Worth
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Reference: TRW-S01-007-Mw-R02-P3
(Originally spoken on 1 August 2004, edited on 10 August 2004, revised on 5 January 2005)
Web site: http://www.ajourneyinlife.org and http://www.ajourneyinlife.com
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Headings:
- Learning by example
- Why is love so great?
- Love and humility
- Perfect Example seen in the Lord Jesus
- Contrast between false worth and true worth
- The love of God seen in the Lord Jesus
- Union of love and humility
- God's assessment and exaltation
- The glory of true worth
We have been considering, in the series on True Worth, the subject "What am I worth?" Today we continue with the seventh message on this subject "What am I worth?"
We have sought to appreciate some major issues from Mark 10: 35-45 to learn how the Lord Jesus responded to the two disciples James and John. In this context, we can appreciate what is important in life and how we should respond to God.
Mark 10: 42-45
- And calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.
- "But it is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant;
- and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.
- "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Let us consider this question: "Why did the Lord Jesus give Himself as an example?"
Learning by example
We see in this context, James and John made a request: They wanted to sit on the right and on the left of the Lord Jesus in His glory. The other disciples were indignant with them. The Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples to beware of false worth, and to beware of wrong understanding of true greatness. He sought to warn them not to follow the ways of the world. In so doing, He referred to the rulers of the Gentiles, the great men in this world. And He told them: "But it is not so among you... "
For us to appreciate what is true greatness or true worth, it is helpful for us to see what is false worth. And so we saw in the last message, Satan, the evil one, who manifests false worth to a very serious degree.
If we consider what is right and what is wrong, we may be able to appreciate to some extent the meaning of this direction. But as we see it illustrated in the rulers of the Gentiles, and how they conduct themselves, and as we see Satan at work, we understand more the danger of the wrong path when we seek to be great according to the ways of the world.
The Lord Jesus told His disciples: "But it is not so among you... " What is great in the kingdom of God is very different from that which is considered great in this world.
He said: "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. " He told His disciples: "If you want to become great, if you desire to be great, then you must become a true servant."
How would the disciples understand what that would mean?
We can have many different concepts of what it means to be a servant. It is easy to do it in the outward form. It is easy to say that we are willing to be servants. But what does it mean to be truly a servant and to become truly great?
It is in this context then, the Lord Jesus said in verse 45: " For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. "
The Lord Jesus wanted the disciples to understand what is true greatness, and what is the meaning of being a true servant.
He referred to Himself because He was the Perfect Example of true worth. If they were to observe His life, if they were to ponder over the meaning of the things that He did and how He lived, they would be able to learn deeply from His life, to understand the meaning of true greatness, of true worth.
Why is love so great?
How did the Lord Jesus serve? How did He manifest His greatness?
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13: 13 that the greatest of these is love. He said: But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
How is the Lord Jesus so great? Why does He show to us the Perfect Example of true worth? How do we relate that with what we understand of what is true greatness?
The greatest of these is love. Why is love so great, in worth, in meaning, in value? At the heart of it, love is so great because it is so good. Love is so great because it is so good. Love that is from God, love that is a manifestation of the character of God, is morally and spiritually good and perfect.
It is very different from the world's concept of love, and what many people refer to as love. What we see as love, what many profess as love, in many situations, is in fact love for their own personal gain, personal desires, and a manifestation of self-seeking.
Many people love because it "feels good" to love, and in many instances love is selfish. True, there are elements in which we care for other people, we want to help others, but even in such situations, when we do not get what we want, that "love" disappears.
The love of God is different. The love of God is pure. It is wholesome. It is self-giving. It is good.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
- Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
- does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
- does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
- bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
The apostle Paul says: Love never fails. We can also translate it as " Love never falls down". It will stand — it will stand forever. It will endure; it will continue. Love that is pure and wholesome is of eternal value.
We see the description of love is not the description of a feeling. It is a description of attitudes, of direction in the heart, of moral and spiritual meaning and character.
Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous: These are moral qualities that are present in divine love. This is the kind of love that we should appreciate and seek for.
Love does not brag and is not arrogant — in contrast to the self-seeking form where we want to be great: the boastful pride of life. Love is not that.
Does not act unbecomingly: It is concerned about what is right and what is good.
It does not seek its own: It is not self-seeking, not self-centred. Is not provoked — because it loves, it cares.
Does not take into account a wrong suffered : It does not take things personally, but is concerned for what is helpful and good.
Does not rejoice in unrighteousness: There is a moral meaning and direction in divine and wholesome love.
But rejoices with the truth: It is concerned about what is right, what is good, what is truth.
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things: Love can withstand all kinds of difficulties, problems, situations, that are very, very difficult.
Love will endure, love will continue. That is the kind of love that God is seeking to teach us.
Love that is pure, self-giving, and wholesome is the primary aspect of perfection in moral character. It is at the heart of true moral greatness and ultimate enduring worth. We see this quality in God, and He is referred to as "the God of love " and "God is love ".
Many people think of love as a feeling. We feel loved. It is emphasized by the world — the emotion, the passion of love.
But the Scriptures show to us that love that is pure and good is primarily, basically, an attitude and a settled direction of the heart — an attitude and a settled direction of the heart in the direction of what is morally and spiritually good.
Yes, it may, it can, and it does, involve feelings, but it is not primarily a feeling.
Love and humility
As we appreciate what true love is, we will also see that love that is truly self-giving for what is morally good and meaningful will be prepared to go to all lengths to accomplish its intention.
This requires humility of the highest level. That is the reason why love and humility go together very deeply.
The Lord Jesus said: "If you do not humble yourself as a little child, you will not be able to enter the kingdom of God." One who learns to humble himself is learning to become great.
That is because if we truly love what is good, we will be prepared to be humble.
Whatever it costs us, however difficult it may be, however humiliating it may seem to be, we want it because we value that which is good. We will stop at nothing to achieve that.
Love that is truly self-giving is deeply united with humility. It will be expressed in humility. The union of these two qualities of love and humility is at the heart of true worth or true greatness in the being. If we want to develop true worth, we need to appreciate more deeply the meaning of true love and true humility.
The Lord Jesus manifested the union of these two qualities at the highest level of perfection.
Perfect Example seen in the Lord Jesus
It is good therefore for us to ponder over the Perfect Example of true worth in the Lord Jesus, as He manifests these two qualities in a very intense and comprehensive and deep way.
Mark 10: 45
- "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
The Lord Jesus said: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served... " The "even " tells us that it is a very unusual, exceptional situation. He deserved to be served. He is the great almighty God, the morally and spiritually perfect being. He deserved to be served. But He did not come to be served.
Why was it so? Why did He give up His right to be served? Why did He come instead to serve?
He tells us that the heart of it is: His purpose in coming to serve was to give His life a ransom for many. He came to give His life a ransom for many: It tells us He came to serve because of love. He came to serve because He loved us. He gave His life a ransom for many because we were in bondage, we were under condemnation ; there was no hope for us. We were under the wrath of God, the judgment for sin. He came because He loved us. He came to set us free. He came to give His life so that He can redeem us — He gave His life a ransom for many.
The Lord Jesus was motivated by self-giving love in a spirit of humility. In order for Him to give His life a ransom for many, He had to come into this world as a man, and endure humiliating circumstances and treatment by others.
The Lord Jesus could not save us if He remained in heaven. The Lord Jesus could not be a ransom for us if He did not come into this world. He had to come into this world as a man to identify with us, and to shoulder and to suffer the consequences of our sins.
He was prepared to endure such humiliation by sinful people because of His love and His humility. He drank the cup, He went through the baptism of intense suffering, because of love. It required humility of a very high level for Him to go through all that.
Many people are not even prepared to be identified with the poor, the lowly in status. The Lord Jesus came from heaven to be identified with us, to be born in very poor circumstances, to be ill-treated by men, maligned and rejected and finally to suffer on the cross for us.
Contrast between false worth and true worth
So it is good for us to see the difference between false worth and true worth — the contrast between the two.
False worth is associated with self-seeking for personal glory. This is manifested in pride and disregard for the well-being of others. False worth arises in the context when we are self-seeking — we desire personal glory, power, abilities, and authority. In that context, pride manifests itself readily; we are concerned about what we want to get; we disregard the well-being of others.
We saw that the most serious example of this is Satan, the evil one. He wanted to be like God; he wanted to be praised, to be honoured, and to be worshipped.
In contrast, true worth is associated with self-giving for what is morally good. This is manifested in humility and divine love. The Perfect Example of this is the Lord Jesus.
When we pursue true worth, we are prepared to give ourselves for what is truly good. That is our concern — we want that which is morally good. When we pursue that direction, we are prepared to humble ourselves in whatever form necessary to attain that goal: We appreciate divine love, we recognize that love brings about true quality in our being; to develop that love, we are prepared to humble ourselves.
Some people think that humility is manifested when you have sinned, you acknowledge that you have sinned, you confess your weaknesses, and you say, "I am not good" — that is humility. That is true... that is one aspect in which humility can be manifested in us.
However, we know the Lord Jesus never sinned, and yet, He is the Perfect Example of humility. Ultimately humility is an attitude of heart. It does not require that we must sin, and then we can become humble. The Lord Jesus never sinned but He was perfectly humble because of love.
He was prepared to do anything, go through any situation, however humiliating it may be, if it were good and right before God — if it would bring about something meaningful and positive.
Is this what we want in our lives?
We see that many people pursue false worth because "it feels good". We need to beware: If we want to "feel good", we will pursue false worth, following the spirit of the world and the evil one. The world provides us many things to enjoy that we can "feel good", including position, power, status, and authority.
When we do that, our moral being will become corrupt, evil and ugly.
In contrast, if we want true worth, we must learn to be truly good, following the Lord Jesus and becoming like Him. Our moral being will become good, and beautiful, and filled with the life of God.
It is a choice that we make: What is it that we want? What is the basis upon which we want to live our lives?
If we want to "feel good", we will not become good.
If we want to be truly good, we will pursue what is meaningful and right before God, and we will become good in our character, in our being.
The love of God seen in the Lord Jesus
Probably the most well-known verse in the Scriptures is:
John 3: 16
- "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life..."
In this verse we are often impressed with the fact that we have salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ because God sent His only begotten Son into this world to save us. When we look at this verse, and seek to appreciate the heart of it, we see that this verse tells us: God so loved...God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...
We can benefit so much from what God has done for us because God so loved us. That is the greatness of God. That is the glory of God. He loved us so much — it is a self-giving love. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son... He gave so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. God loved in order to save us from perishing. God loved in order to give us eternal life.
However, it may not be so easy for us to appreciate that love. We can have some idea, but we may not appreciate it so deeply. God in His wisdom sent His only begotten Son into this world to live in this world as a man. And as the perfect man, the Lord Jesus shows to us what love is — by the way He lived His life, not just in the event of the cross but throughout His life.
The self-giving love in the heart of God is seen and manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect man. " He who has seen Me has seen the Father": the Lord Jesus came to manifest the character of God, to help us understand who God is.
John 15: 13
- "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends..."
The Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples, helping them to understand what love is.
He said: "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends... " The Lord Jesus was not referring merely to physical death — going through physical death for the sake of your friends. He was referring to giving up His life for His friends, laying down His life for His friends.
The way He lived His life and what was manifested at the cross helps us to understand the meaning of giving up His life. He gave up His rights, He suffered, He was prepared to take our place in the wrath and the judgment of God, and continue to love us in the midst of all that we have done that is displeasing to God. He did that because He is the good shepherd.
John 10: 14-15
- "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me,
- even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep..."
The Lord Jesus is the good shepherd: " I lay down My life for the sheep. " He cares so much for His sheep that He is prepared to go through that suffering to protect the sheep, to help the sheep, to bring about meaningful, positive welfare for the sheep.
It is also helpful for us to understand that the love in the Lord Jesus is a love with many different facets of quality.
Love with discernment
For example, it is not a love without discernment. The love of the Lord Jesus is a discerning love. He differentiates; He recognizes what is good and bad. He does not simply allow Himself to give Himself without understanding the direction, the meaning, and the context.
How deeply He would associate with us, how close He would be to us in the context of His love, is dependent upon the meaning and the quality in our hearts.
John 2: 23-25
- Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing.
- But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
- and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man.
He knew all men. He understood what was in the heart of men — the different people that He met. There were many who believed in His name, many who were eager to be close to Him, many who acknowledged Him, but the Lord Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them.
He differentiated those who were sincere from those who were not. He differentiated those who were superficial from those who were deep. He differentiated those who were prepared to humble themselves from those who were seeking to glorify themselves.
If we want to develop true worth in our being, we should learn to develop love with discernment — to love that which is morally and spiritually good, and to concentrate on that wherever it may be found.
Philippians 1: 9-11
- And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
- so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
- having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The apostle Paul prayed for the Philippian Christians that their love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.
Love is not basically an emotion — we are very attached to someone emotionally. Love is of quality when it is associated with real knowledge and discernment: we approve the things that are excellent — morally good — and it is filled with the fruit of righteousness.
Love must have a moral meaning in it for it to be of true quality. Such a love will have a very powerful impact upon those who desire to walk in this path.
The apostle Paul himself appreciated very deeply the love of the Lord Jesus:
Galatians 2: 20
- "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me..."
The apostle Paul was prepared to go through a very difficult life, to learn to live a life being crucified with Christ, the meaning of Christ alive in him. He was prepared to live that way because he benefited from the example of the Lord Jesus and from His sacrifice for him. He appreciated "the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me " — it was a self-giving love, and it drew Paul to the Lord Jesus to learn to live likewise.
Love and forgiveness
The love of the Lord Jesus was so deep, so self-giving that we can see that in the midst of intense suffering, He continued to love, and it manifested in a forgiving spirit even towards those who hated Him, even those who sought to destroy His life.
Luke 23: 33-34
- And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
- But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."
The Lord Jesus was suffering crucifixion because of the sins of mankind. The people crucified Him and yet in the midst of His suffering because of their sins, He prayed to God to forgive them.
He said: "...for they do not know what they are doing. " Of course, the Lord Jesus knew that the people were sinful; they knew what they were doing in the sense that it was wrong for them to crucify Him. They were not innocent. There was a wrong attitude in their hearts ; that is why they did not receive Him. They rejected Him.
But the Lord Jesus was kind and compassionate. Although there was wrong on their part, He was also conscious that the evil one was powerfully at work: the evil one was deceiving the people. The Lord Jesus was kind towards them. He gave room for their failures, and asked God to forgive them.
God can forgive us because the Lord Jesus took our place. The Lord Jesus could pray, "Father, forgive them... " because He took our place — our suffering and our punishment.
But it is only in the context when we are truly repentant, when we recognize where we have gone wrong and are prepared to change, that we can benefit from His love.
Love and concern while suffering
We see also love and concern in the midst of His suffering.
In a passage in John chapter19, verses 23-27, we have a description of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. In that context, there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
Verse 26: When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" yes" lang="EN-GB"> [Verse 27] Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
When we are in the midst of suffering, it is easy for us to be pre-occupied with our suffering. This will be especially so if we think that we are unfairly treated. We can become very bitter and very angry.
In the midst of unfair treatment, in the midst of His suffering, the Lord Jesus was not concentrating on His suffering.
He was considering His mother. He said: " Woman, behold, your son! " In this context, "your son " was not a reference to Himself but to His disciple, and it is likely a reference to John.
Verse 27 tells us: Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!"
The Lord Jesus was instructing John, His disciple, while He was hanging on the cross in pain, telling John to take care of Mary.
And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
This is love of a very, very high degree — a self-giving love.
Union of love and humility
Let us go on to see the union of love and humility: the love of the Lord Jesus manifested in the highest level of humility.
Philippians 2: 5-8
- Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
- who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
- but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
- And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This passage is often referred to, to help us understand humility.
That is in order, and it is helpful. In fact, in the context in Philippians chapter 2, the apostle Paul was telling the Philippians to have this attitude of humility. The apostle Paul was concerned about the wrong attitude that would create friction and conflicts.
However, as we look at this passage, we see that at the heart of it, the expression of humility arose because of love.
The Lord Jesus humbled Himself for a purpose — the purpose of the cross. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. The cross was the result of His heart of love. The humbling of Himself was necessary in this situation to accomplish that purpose.
The relationship between love and humility is very deep. So too, the relationship between self-seeking and pride is very deep: When the apostle Paul told the Philippians, Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, we see they come together. The consideration for others, love for others, leads to humility: they are closely related.
The Lord Jesus came into this world willingly and gladly, because of love for us. It was love that motivated Him to come into this world. But for Him to go through what He had to do in this world, it required a very high level of humility.
He was prepared to forego His rightful glory in heaven to identify with us, to be with us, to help us, even to the point of death on the cross.
It was a life of self-giving love in a spirit of humility throughout His life.
He left His rightful glory in heaven ; He was prepared to be born in a manger ; He lived as a carpenter ; He was despised and rejected by men, misunderstood, maligned, and ill-treated, but He was prepared to take the form of a bond-servant, to be obedient to God to the point of death.
We see the humility of the Lord Jesus and His love manifested in the midst of rejection and suffering, including times of ill treatment by people.
Isaiah 53: 2-6 is a very beautiful passage that describes the love and the humility of the Lord Jesus.
Isaiah 53: 2-6
- For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
- He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
- Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
- But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
- All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
He has no stately form or majesty: the kind of glory that people of the world would look for — a majestic appearance.
He was despised and forsaken of men: People despised Him; He was forsaken. He was a man of sorrows... acquainted with grief. He was like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. People did not regard Him highly; they missed the Perfect Example of true worth — they did not recognize Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore. Why did He go through all this? — to bear our griefs. Our sorrows He carried.
And yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. People thought that He was stricken, smitten of God, afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions. It was for our sake, not for Himself, but for our sake.
He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him...by His scourging, we are healed — the love and the humility of the Lord Jesus manifested by His coming into this world and going through a life of suffering, a life of sorrow and grief, a life of rejection by men, being despised and forsaken, smitten of God, stricken, afflicted, pierced through because of our transgressions, because of our iniquities, for the sake of our well-being.
Is that not the Perfect Example of greatness, of true worth?
Mark 14: 65
- And some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.
We see the description of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Perfect One, the One who was in glory in heaven, being spat upon by sinful men, blindfolded, beaten, slapped.
The Lord Jesus allowed all this. He went through all this, in humility, because of love. That is the degree of His love for us. That is the determination in His heart for what is good.
Matthew 27: 29-31
- And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
- And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.
- And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
He was mocked by people who were sinful and under the condemnation of God. He came to save them, and yet they mocked Him, they beat Him, they spat upon Him...
What quality of humility in a context of true love !
If we want to develop true love, we should seek to appreciate the life of the Lord Jesus: to understand what was in His heart, what motivated Him to come into this world, how He lived His life, and follow His Example... the spirit within Him... the preparedness to go through whatever was meaningful and necessary to accomplish that which is good in the kingdom of God, for the well-being of others.
God's assessment and exaltation
We see then, as a result of all this, true worth in God's assessment and exaltation. God assessed the Lord Jesus to be truly worthy, and He exalted Him.
Philippians 2: 9-11
- Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
- that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
- and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Lord Jesus humbled Himself... to the point of death... on a cross. God exalted Him.
He who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted. It must be true humbling for it to be accepted. It must be genuinely motivated by love for what is good. It must be in accordance with the will of God.
The Lord Jesus did all that.
Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name: the highest glory accorded to man — the perfect Man — because He was perfectly worthy.
God's assessment of Him and exaltation tells us that there was true worth in His being, and that God was pleased with Him.
At the very beginning of His earthly ministry, God declared that the Lord Jesus was His beloved Son. He was well-pleased with Him.
At the end of His life on earth, after His death and resurrection, God highly exalted Him.
That tells us His life was consistent — He never wavered. He began a life fully pleasing to God ; He concluded His life on earth fully pleasing to God — that is the perfect life.
The glory of true worth
Finally, we see true worth in quality of being and living in the Lord Jesus. Revelation 5: 1-14 describes a scene in heaven and the glory of the Lord Jesus.
Revelation 5: 1-14 (NASB Updated Edition)
- I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
- And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?"
- And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it.
- Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it;
- and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals."
- And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
- And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
- When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
- And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
- "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
- Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands,
- saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."
- And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."
- And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped.
The Lord Jesus Christ was declared worthy — worthy for a task that no one else could do, worthy in the sense that He was deserving. There was quality, there was value, there was worth in His being and in His living.
He was declared worthy: "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation..."
He was worthy because He chose the path of the cross voluntarily. He delighted in the will of God. He came into this world for this purpose.
He chose this path not because He had to. He could have called upon God, and God would have delivered Him at any time if He did not want to go through the cross. But He chose that path because of love, and this rendered Him truly worthy: the Perfect Example of true worth.
Let us then ask the Lord to help us to appreciate the Lord Jesus in His perfection as the Perfect Example of true worth.
Let us ponder over His love — the degree, the depth, the extent of it. Let us ponder over His humility — how far He was prepared to go because of love. Let us learn to be like Him, that we too will truly be great because we truly love — prepared to be humble, to go through whatever God may see fit for us to go through in order to accomplish His purpose.
Let us ask Him to search our hearts, and help us to correct ourselves where there are areas that are not right, to know His forgiveness, and to ask Him to teach us to be like Him.