What do we mean when we say Jesus is worthy? It’s a term we use commonly in our worship, and for good reason. But what exactly do we mean?

As we approach Easter Sunday, where we will lift our voices together and sing of the worthy, risen Lamb, I thought it would be good to stop and meditate together on the worthiness of Christ, in order that our worship might be richer and fuller.

Here are three things that I think we mean when we worship Jesus as Worthy.

1. Jesus is valuable. 

• “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” - Matthew 13:44
  
  
• "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.” - John 4:14

We worship Jesus because we have discovered him to be the most valuable thing that life has to offer. He ransomed us from sin. He restored us to the Father. He satisfies every longing of our hearts. We have drunk from the fountain of living water, and we have found that nothing else in life even comes close to quenching the thirst of our souls compared to Jesus.

The book of Ecclesiastes essentially reads as the manifesto of a man who set out to discover whether or not life had any pleasure to offer that was greater than God, and came up empty. This world offers us nothing like Jesus. All the activities and fleeting pleasures of life, apart from Christ, are broken cisterns that hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13). Living water is found only in Christ.

Jesus is so valuable, and so satisfying, that he is worth everything we could ever hope to possess. As Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)

So when we worship Jesus as worthy, we are saying that he is infinitely valuable. His worth has no limit. He is the pearl of great price. He is the most precious thing we could ever possess in this age, and every age to come. Nothing compares. To have Christ is to have everything our soul will ever long for.

2. Jesus is qualified.

• “And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” - Revelation 5:2-3

Do you remember the story of King Arthur and the sword in the stone? In the legend, the sword (Excalibur) could only be pulled from the stone by the “true king” -- the rightful heir of the throne. Many tried to extract the blade and failed, until one day, the boy Arthur came along and was able to free the sword from its place.

Or perhaps you’re familiar with Thor, the thundering hero of the Avengers derived from Norse mythology, who wields a magical hammer that none but Thor can lift. On the hammer reads the inscription, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

When we read Revelation 5, something about the fictional characters of Thor and Arthur resonates, only this time it’s not mythology. Here we see a scroll in the hand of God the Father -- a scroll infinitely mightier than Excalibur or Mjolnir -- and there is no one worthy to take it from his hand and open it. That is, until Jesus, the True Hero, comes on the scene.

Because Jesus became flesh, lived a perfect life, and bled on the cross to absorb the wrath of God for the sin of mankind, he is qualified to take the scroll. He, and he alone, has the credentials necessary to sit as judge of the earth. He atoned for the sins of the earth, making him fit to judge those on the earth who reject his salvation. There is not a being more fit to judge mankind on the last day than the Son of God.

So when we say that Jesus is worthy, we are saying that he is infinitely qualified. He has the credentials to be the sovereign Lord of all the universe. He is the rightful King. He alone is the one who is able to rule. To him alone will we bow our knee in submission. He alone is worthy to wield the scepter (Revelation 2:27). To King Jesus alone do we give homage. 

• "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” - Revelation 5:9-10

3. Jesus is deserving.

• “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! - Revelation 5:12
  
  

Because of who Jesus is and what he accomplished, he is infinitely deserving of all attention, all glory, all praise, and all honor in heaven and on earth. He is the only object that is deserving of worship.

A skillful athlete is worthy of praise when he delivers a stunning performance on the court. A talented musician is worthy of praise when she performs a beautiful song. A brilliant chef is worthy of praise when he crafts a wonderful meal. How much more infinitely worthy of praise is the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, and reconciled us to the Father! Truly, “love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

So when we worship Jesus as worthy, we are saying he is infinitely deserving of everything we have to offer. All praise. All energy. All attention. Every fabric of our being. For all things are from him, and through him, and to him (Romans 11:36). He is deserving of it all.

This weekend, as we celebrate again the death and resurrection of Christ together, I pray God grants us the eyes to see the infinitely valuable, infinitely qualified, infinitely deserving, infinitely worthy Lamb of God for who he is. And may we find him to be the delight of our souls forever, and ever.

Beholding His glory with you,
Jason