Worthy Is the Lamb

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The meditation today comes from the New Testament, Revelation 5: 8-14. All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

My hope is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of meditation today is "Worthy Is the Lamb." I read from Revelation 5: 8-14. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.

“8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words:

     “You are worthy to take the scroll
       and break its seals and open it.
     For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed
       people for God
       from every tribe and language and people and nation.
     10 And you have caused them to become
       a Kingdom of priests for our God.
       And they will reign on the earth.”

     11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus:

     “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—
       to receive power and riches
     and wisdom and strength
       and honor and glory and blessing.”

     13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang:

     “Blessing and honor and glory and power
       belong to the one sitting on the throne
       and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

“14 And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.”

The apostle John observes a spectacular, awe-inspiring moment in heaven when the Lamb takes the scroll from the hand of God. The throne of God becomes the epicenter of praise for the Lamb. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders begin by singing a new song. The chorus to this new song is then sung mightily by thousands and millions of angels around the throne. Finally, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, literally every living entity, join in singing praise to the Lamb! The wave extends to the reaches of creation and resounding praise returns back to the Lamb. This praise is given because the Lamb was slaughtered, and his blood ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. This outpouring of praise to Jesus suggests to me that the death of the Son of God on the cross for the sins of humankind is the pivotal moment in eternity. As incomprehensible as it may seem, there is eternity before Jesus offered his life and there is eternity after Jesus offered his life. Clearly, the death of Jesus on the cross is the pivotal moment in human history. Without much fanfare or discourse there in the upper room, Jesus tells his disciples and followers to assemble to break bread and drink wine to remember his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins of humankind. Unlike the festivals and holy days described in the Old Testament, Jesus did not give this activity a formal name perhaps because he wanted us to say instead, "Let's get together to remember our Lord's death for us." Thanks be to God for letting us observe how important it is to Him that we join with all of creation and give praise and honor to the Son. As we assemble today, we can surely say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Indeed, Abba, Father, the Lamb is worthy of praise in heaven and earth! He gave His life for us! As we assemble to remember our Lord's death for us today, we are honored to give Him our praise and be called by His name. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!