4/27/25 Weekly Bible Lesson: Sing a New Song

This text describes a vision shown to John, one of Jesus’s apostles. John is presented with a scroll sealed with seven seals, but to his dismay, John sees no one is worthy of opening the scroll and seeing what is inside. As John begins to weep, an elder tells him there is someone who can open the scroll. 

Have you ever experienced a time when you realized you just weren’t good enough? A time when you did the best you could do, but it still wasn’t enough. When I was in middle school, I played on a community basketball team. I really enjoyed playing, especially because we had a pretty good team and won most of our games—but one night our confidence was completely rocked. The team we were up against had a star player who was suspiciously tall (I still think he was a high schooler!), and it was my job to guard him. Until then I thought I was a good player, but this guy was phenomenal and scored multiple points against me. The coach eventually made some adjustments and sent in a substitute to take my place. My only consolation was that my teammate couldn’t guard him either. In fact, it didn’t matter who guarded him. It didn’t matter whether we played zone or man-to-man, it didn’t matter what plays we tried to execute, nothing could stop him. Defeat was inevitable. Our entire team lost heart realizing we were simply not good enough to win. 

Now that’s just a silly illustration about a youth basketball league, but I think we all remember a time when we just didn’t measure up and felt helpless and hopeless. 

The image from Revelation 5 touches on the same feeling of inadequacy, but with an added layer of weighty eternal significance. John wrote, “I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or even look inside” (Revelation 5:3-4). He was moved to tears because it was all so hopeless. 

Fortunately, John was not left in utter defeat. He continued, “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’” (Revelation 5:5). The only One worthy to open the scroll is Jesus Christ who defeated sin and is Himself perfect and sinless. 

At first glimpse, Jesus appeared as the Lion of Judah, symbolizing His power and authority overall. Then in the very next verse, He is pictured as a Lamb that has been slain. The change is sudden, but it reveals both aspects of the Savior we worship. He is our mighty King who clothed Himself in humility and walked beside us, dealing with the same struggles and issues we face today. He often went without food and without shelter. He was abandoned by His followers and even by His close friends. He was mocked and punished for sins He didn’t commit. This mighty King, this mighty Lion of Judah, was laid low and became a sacrificial Lamb. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). 

When John describes the opening of the scroll, it is the Lamb, not the Lion, who opens it. When He does, the twenty-four elders immediately fall down before Him and sing a new song. What kind of song is this? What kind of song do we sing to worship the Lion and the Lamb? This question intrigues me because I am part of the worship team at my church, and I want to know how to worship Jesus in the best possible way. Using verses 9 and 10 as a template, we can easily identify the marks of a good worship song: 

It highlights the worthiness of Christ. 

It is impossible to over-elevate Jesus. There is no such thing as hyperbole when singing His praises. Every song should point out His exclusive claim to all our worship because He alone is worthy. 

It references His sacrifice for us. 

He is worthy because He was slain. It would be difficult to praise Him properly with a bloodless song. We should always point to the finished work of Christ on the cross and give Him glory for the blood that He shed for us. 

It emphasizes the global reach of salvation. 

Our songs of worship should broaden our perspective and remind us that Jesus has purchased men “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” The church of Christ is not solely comprised of a bunch of English-speaking Americans. The Great Commission is a global initiative. 

It directs God’s people to serve Him and to serve others.  

The contents of this new song suggest those who worship the sacrificial Lamb are to live lives that emulate Him. They are priests who exist to serve God. Their reign on earth is one of Christ-like service to others. His selflessness should inspire us to be servants, because “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). 

May the church sing songs of praise that express our gratitude for the Savior who took us from hopeless and helpless to hope-filled and heaven-bound. Worthy is the Lamb!