In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

If you look up the word, “worship” in a good dictionary, you will learn that its origin is in the term, “worth.” Worship comes from the old English term “worth-ship.” When we worship the Lord, we are saying that he is worthy of our worship. That’s what the saints and angels say here: (12) "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" They worshiped Jesus. Dear friends, Jesus rose from the dead! He is our risen Savior. Truly, Jesus is worthy of our worship.

1. HE IS THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN

Do you know why Jesus is called, “The Lamb” here? They sang: “Worthy is the Lamb.” That might seem strange to some people. Today, in our society, we tend to think of lambs as cute and cuddly creatures. But in the Old Testament, lambs were used for sacrifices. Remember when God tested the faith of Abraham? God called on Abraham to take his son, Isaac, up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him. On the way Isaac asked his father a difficult question, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” He expected there to be a lamb to sacrifice. Abraham replied that God would provide a lamb. And God did provide a ram to be Isaac’s substitute. Isaac did not have to die, but his substitute was slain in his place.

John the Baptizer pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The people knew what he meant. He didn’t mean that Jesus was a cute and cuddly creature. He meant that Jesus was going to be sacrificed. He would die as our Substitute. That’s why John added the words, “who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus came to take away the sins of the world. He did this by being “slain,” which means to be slaughtered or killed in a violent way. On Good Friday, Jesus was killed in a violent way on the cross. He was slain as a sacrifice there for us. He died for us, as our Substitute. And so, he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He is worthy of our worship! Worship Jesus Christ, our risen Savior: because he is the Lamb of God who was slain for us. But that’s not all. By enduring this suffering and death in our place...

2. HE REDEEMED US WITH HIS BLOOD.

The term “redeem” means to buy back or pay a ransom price. Jesus came to pay for all of our sins. But the price that needed to be paid was infinite. What we deserve for our sins is not merely some slap on the wrist! No, we deserve to perish eternally in hell for our sins. And so, there was an eternal price that needed to be paid. Either we have to pay that price eternally in hell (and we’ll never get out), or someone eternal had to die in our place. And that’s what Jesus did.

In verse 9 Jesus is praised with these words: “You were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” Jesus purchased us. He redeemed us “with his blood.” That means that he died for us. There are many references to Jesus shedding his blood for us in the Bible. Consider just a handful of examples from the New Testament. Romans 5:9 says, “we have now been justified by his blood.” Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:20 tells us that Jesus was “making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Last week, we heard in the second lesson that Jesus “has freed us from our sins by his blood” (Rev 1:5). Acts 20:28 calls Jesus “God” and says that he bought the church “with his own blood.” In other words, when Jesus shed his blood on the cross, the blood that was shed was the blood of God in the flesh. His blood had infinite value. 1 Peter 1:19 calls it, “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” Luther’s Small Catechism puts it this way: “Jesus has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.”

When Jesus died on the cross, and shed his blood, that sacrifice was sufficient to pay for all of our sins, and the sins of the whole world. Let me explain why that is important. Sometimes, people have doubts. They aren’t sure that Jesus died for them. They aren’t sure that their sins are forgiven. Partly that’s the fault of false teachers who put all the emphasis on what you must do to be saved. But listen closely. You know John 3:16 right? For God so loved the world... When it says God so loved the world, we can know that we are included. We are part of the whole world. And so I can say to all of you, that God so loved all of you, (yes, you!) so much that he gave his one and only Son to save you. The Bible says that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but for the sins of the whole world. So, let no one go home today wondering if Jesus died for you. He did! And he paid enough for all of your sins, and everyone else’s too!

This forgiveness is received by faith. John 3:16 continues to say that whoever believes in him (Jesus) shall not perish, but have eternal life. So, this complete forgiveness is received by faith, but it is rejected by unbelief. Jesus said (Mark 16:16) “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Unfortunately, many people will not be in heaven because they rejected Jesus as their Savior! He died for them. He shed his blood for them. He paid for their sins, but they rejected him. They refused to believe in him as their Savior. That’s really sad. That’s why we urge all of you to invite your friends and neighbors and relatives to hear God’s Word. They need to know what you know! Don’t just let them perish without at least inviting them!

How great it would be if everyone would hear the message of the gospel and believe in Jesus! For now, I want you to know that Jesus has saved you! Doesn’t that make you want to worship Jesus, our risen Savior?

3. HE DESERVES ALL PRAISE AND GLORY.

Do you find yourself always asking the question, “Why should I?”... Maybe one of your children is always asking, “why should I?” Why should I go to church? Why should I sing and pray? Why should I serve? Why should I worship Christ? These “why should I?” questions seek motivation. What is our motivation, our reason, to worship Christ?

Our motivation is all wrapped up in the gospel, the good news of salvation. Remember what Jesus did to save you. First, Jesus lived a perfect life for us. Then, Jesus suffered and died on the cross to pay for all sin. Jesus rose from death, which proves that he purchased forgiveness for all. That motivated the heavenly worshipers. (12) In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Jesus is worthy because He did all the work of saving us. Jesus is worthy to receive all praise and glory.

If someone gives us a gift, it is common courtesy to say, “Thank you.” Imagine if someone gave you a gift of ten million dollars. Would you say, “Thanks!” and be nice to that person? Of course! Jesus has given us a far greater gift. Jesus gives us eternal life in heaven! Eternal life in heaven is worth more than all the money in the world! He deserves all praise and glory. Without him, we’d be in hell forever. With him, that is, by faith in him, we will be in heaven forever. So, as believers we want to praise him.

That’s not all. Worship is a fruit of faith. Believers want to worship Christ. Faith moves us to want to praise our Savior, to serve our Savior, to do his will as his servants. He deserves all praise and glory for saving us, and as believers we want to give him all praise and glory.

But, there is one question that remains. Now that we know WHY we praise Jesus, let us consider HOW we do this. There are many ways to give praise and glory to our risen Savior. We do this right here with formal public worship services. By word and song and prayer and offering we seek to praise our Savior. But our worship should not stop as we exit this worship space. No, our whole lives are to be dedicated to our Savior’s glory.

We worship Jesus by the way that we talk and the way that we act each day. Whatever you do, wherever you go, be sure to give all praise and glory to Jesus. That influences the way that we live at home, the way we work, and even the way we relax and enjoy life. You can sit back in a lawn chair and praise Jesus for all he’s done. You can give him the praise each day at home.

But our worship doesn’t stop when we die. It won’t even stop at the end of the world. No, we will worship Jesus for all eternity in heaven. Now, many of you mentioned how wonderful it was to praise our risen Savior on Easter Sunday. But just think how great it will be when we get to heaven! It will be a joy to praise him forever.

And, He deserves it! Jesus deserves all praise and glory. Let us worship Jesus Christ, our risen Savior here in time and hereafter in eternity. Amen.