Worthy to Open the Scroll
November 21, 2024 - Thursday, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Revelation 5:1-10
Every government, organization, and community has a goal and a plan to achieve it, whether to dominate, influence, or profit. These plans are often made behind closed doors and executed by a chosen leader. In today's reading from Revelation, we witness a similar scene, where God's divine plan for salvation and the unfolding of history is represented by a sealed scroll, entrusted to the only One worthy to open it.
John sees a scroll in the right hand of the Almighty. The right hand represents His sovereign authority, and the scroll represents His divine plan for the salvation of the world and the unfolding of history. The fact that no one is worthy to open it signifies humanity’s incapacity to control or bring about God’s plan of redemption. The scroll is sealed not just with one, but with seven seals, indicating its importance and finality. Moreover, it could not be opened before the appointed time. The fact that it was to be opened soon indicates that with Jesus appearing on the stage of history, the end of the ages or the last days had already arrived (see Daniel 12:4, 9; Hebr. 1:1-2).
Jesus Christ is described with the images of a lion and a lamb. The lion was a symbol of the tribe of Judah. When Jacob was about to die, he pronounced his final blessings over all his sons, and over Judah, he said that he is "a lion's cub" and "like a lion" (Gen. 49:9). With this imagery, John reminds us that Jesus descended from the tribe of Judah (see Hebr. 7:14). The phrase "the root of David" highlights Jesus' royal and messianic status, as He was "descended from David" (Rom. 1:3).
The symbol of the lamb relates to Isaiah's prophecy about God's servant, who was "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7). The Gospel of John presents Jesus and His entire ministry in this way: He is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Standing in the midst of the throne, the Lamb still carries the wounds of the cross — "a Lamb that seemed to have been slain" (Rev. 5:6). This is how the risen Christ was recognized by His disciples: "He showed them his hands and his side" (John 20:20). Only the crucified and risen Christ is worthy to open the scroll because of His willingness to offer His life for the redemption of the world (see Rev. 5:9).
We are told that Jesus' blood has been the price of our redemption. Saint Peter explains this truth powerfully: "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Jesus "bought" us for God. Moreover, He purchased us so we could be "a kingdom and priests for our God" (Rev. 5:10). Just as an earthly nation is ruled by a leader and has its own laws, customs, and values, God’s kingdom is ruled by Christ, and we live by His commandment of love. And as priests — not in the sacramental sense — we are all called to offer our lives in service, prayer, and witness to God.
Today's passage ends with a hope for the future: all of us purchased by the blood of Jesus for God "shall reign on earth" (Rev. 5:10). This promise points to the vision of a new heaven and a new earth and the heavenly Jerusalem descending from heaven (see Rev. 21-22). At that moment, "the kingdom of God will come in all its fullness. Then the just will reign with Jesus Christ forever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will be ‘all in all’ in eternal life" (Catechism 1060).