The Unsolvable Problem and the Conquering Lamb Text: Revelation 5:1-5
Introduction: The Crisis of History
We come now to the very heart of all things, to the celestial throne room where the ultimate questions of history and destiny are settled. In the previous chapter, John was shown the central reality of the universe: the worship of the transcendent, sovereign God. Everything orbits this throne. But now, the camera zooms in. From the grandeur of the Creator, we are directed to a specific object in His right hand. This object, a scroll, represents the central crisis of all history. It is the plan of God, the decree of the ages, the title deed to the world, the story of redemption and judgment. And it is locked.
Our age is one of frantic, godless activity. Men rush to and fro, building their towers of Babel, writing their manifestos, and launching their five-year plans. They believe, with a straight face, that they are in control of history. They think that with enough legislation, enough technology, enough education, or enough raw power, they can unroll the scroll of the future and make it read according to their own lusts. But what we see here in Revelation 5 is the stark truth. All of human history, from the counsels of kings to the secret thoughts of your own heart, is a locked book. And no one, absolutely no one, has the authority or the moral right to open it.
This chapter presents us with a universal constitutional crisis. The plan for the cosmos is written, but there is no qualified executor. The will is drafted, but there is no one worthy to break the seals and enact its terms. This is not a small problem. This is the ultimate problem. If this scroll remains sealed, then history is a meaningless tragedy, creation is a failed experiment, and our lives are just a long, slow march into the dark. John's profound grief in this passage is the only sane response to a world without a worthy savior. This passage forces us to confront the utter bankruptcy of the entire created order, and then, right at the moment of absolute despair, it reveals the one and only solution.
The Text
Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Stop crying! Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals."
(Revelation 5:1-5 LSB)
The Sealed Decree (v. 1)
The scene opens with the ultimate object of authority and purpose.
"Then I saw in the right hand of Him who sits on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals." (Revelation 5:1)
The scroll is in the right hand of God the Father, the hand of power and authority. This is not a lost document; it is held securely by the sovereign Lord of all things. This scroll is His eternal decree, His plan for the consummation of all things. It contains the unfolding of judgment and redemption. We are immediately reminded of the prophet Ezekiel, who was also shown a scroll written on the front and back, a scroll full of "lamentations and mourning and woe" (Ezekiel 2:9-10). This tells us that the contents of this scroll are comprehensive and deal with the hard realities of judgment upon a rebellious world.
The fact that it is written on both sides indicates the fullness of God's plan. There are no blank spaces, no unwritten chapters, no room for human amendments. History is not an improvised drama. God has written the entire script, from beginning to end. Your life, the rise and fall of nations, the coming of Christ, and the final judgment, it is all there. Nothing is left to chance.
And it is "sealed up with seven seals." Seven is the biblical number of perfection and completeness. This scroll is perfectly, divinely, and completely sealed. This is the same idea we find in the book of Daniel, where the prophet is told to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4). What was sealed in Daniel is about to be unsealed in Revelation. The seals represent the fact that God's plan is inscrutable and inviolable. No one can pry it open. No one can force God's hand. It will be opened only at the appointed time, by the appointed person.
The Cosmic Challenge and Universal Failure (v. 2-4)
A challenge is now issued to the entire universe, and the response is a deafening silence.
"Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it." (Revelation 5:2-3 LSB)
A "strong angel" issues the proclamation. This is not a casual inquiry. This is a formal, legal challenge shouted with a loud voice so that all of creation can hear. The question is not about strength or intelligence. The question is about worthiness. Who has the moral right, the legal standing, the requisite character to execute God's plan? Who is qualified to take the history of the world from the Father's hand and bring it to its proper conclusion?
The search is exhaustive. It covers all three tiers of the biblical cosmos: "in heaven" (the angels, the cherubim, the seraphim), "on the earth" (the greatest kings, the wisest philosophers, the most devout priests), and "under the earth" (the saints who have died, the patriarchs, the prophets). And the verdict is absolute: "no one." Not Abraham, not Moses, not David, not Isaiah, not even the strong angel who issued the challenge. No created being has the resume for this job. All have sinned and fall short. All are creatures, contingent, and morally compromised. The entire created order stands silent and impotent before the throne of God. This is the ultimate demonstration of the Creator/creature distinction. God's plan requires a divine executor.
John's reaction to this cosmic failure is entirely appropriate.
"Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it." (Revelation 5:4 LSB)
John weeps, and he weeps greatly. This is not a sentimental sniffle. This is a deep, gut-wrenching grief. Why? Because he understands the implications. If the scroll remains sealed, then sin is never finally judged. Redemption is never fully accomplished. God's promises are never fulfilled. The martyrs' blood is never vindicated. Creation is never liberated from its bondage to decay. History is a dead-end street. John's tears are the tears of every saint who has ever cried out, "How long, O Lord?" His weeping is the proper response to a universe without a mediator, a creation without a king. Before we can truly rejoice in the gospel, we must first feel the weight of this great cosmic sadness.
The Triumphant Qualifier (v. 5)
Into this moment of utter despair, one of the elders speaks a word of glorious, world-altering hope.
"And one of the elders said to me, 'Stop crying! Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.'" (Revelation 5:5 LSB)
The command is abrupt and wonderful: "Stop crying!" The reason for despair has been removed. There is one who is worthy. And notice how He is described. He is identified by two magnificent Old Testament titles. First, He is "the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah." This takes us all the way back to Genesis 49, where Jacob is blessing his sons. To Judah, he says, "Judah is a lion's whelp... The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes" (Genesis 49:9-10). This is a messianic title of royal power and conquering strength. The King has come from the kingly tribe. He is the fulfillment of Israel's royal hope. He is the one who has the authority to rule and to judge.
Second, He is "the Root of David." This title, drawn from Isaiah 11:1, 10, is wonderfully paradoxical. Christ is the "branch" from the stump of Jesse, David's father, meaning He is David's descendant. But He is also the "Root." He is not just David's son; He is David's source. He is the one from whom David's kingship derived its meaning and existence. This is precisely the riddle Jesus posed to the Pharisees: "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" (Matthew 22:45). The answer is that He is both fully God and fully man. As man, He is David's offspring. As God, He is David's Lord and Root. He is the only one who bridges the gulf between God and man, the only one with a foot in both camps, and therefore the only one qualified to mediate God's plan to the world.
And how did He become worthy? The text says He "has overcome." He has conquered. The Greek word is nikao, from which we get our word Nike. It means to win a decisive victory. Where did He win this victory? He won it in His sinless life, His substitutionary death, and His triumphant resurrection. He overcame the world, the flesh, and the devil. He met the dragon in combat and crushed his head. He satisfied the demands of God's law and absorbed the fury of God's wrath. His victory was not a political or military one in the first instance; it was a profound moral and spiritual victory. Because He conquered sin and death, He has earned the right to execute the Father's decree. The Lion has prevailed.
Conclusion: The Lion Who is a Lamb
The elder tells John to behold a Lion, a conquering king. But when John turns to look in the next verse, what does he see? "A Lamb as though it had been slain." This is the central paradox of our faith and the central glory of the gospel. The Lion conquered by becoming a Lamb. His power is the power of sacrifice. His throne was the cross. His crown was made of thorns. His victory was won through apparent defeat.
The world looks for worthiness in strength, in pride, in self-assertion, in political clout. But God finds worthiness in humility, in obedience, in self-sacrifice. The universe was in a state of crisis, and the only one who could solve it was the one who was willing to be broken, to be slain. The scroll of history, with all its judgments and redemptions, could only be opened by a hand that was pierced with a nail.
This is the answer to our despair. This is the reason we are to stop crying. History is not a meaningless cycle. It is a story, and the hero of the story is the Lion who is the Lamb. He has taken the scroll. He is breaking the seals. He is working all things according to the counsel of His will. He is bringing history to its appointed, glorious conclusion. Therefore, we do not despair at the headlines. We do not fear the plots of wicked men. The plan is in the hand of the one who has already overcome. Our King is worthy, and because He is worthy, our future is secure.