Revelation 5:4 Commentary and Bible Study

When nobody is found, John is overwhelmed. This tough man of God, who has undergone great persecution, breaks down in tears. John weeps because the scroll which contains the writing of God will never be opened and if it is not opened the things written in it will never come to pass. The search has been made through all creation, but no one has been found worthy. Not in heaven? In heaven are beings not infected by sin and who have mighty power and understanding of the purposes of God, yet even among these there is not one found sufficient for the task. Not on earth? No living man in any nation, or in any age, is able. Nor under the earth – hell cannot yield up a suitable person. The Redeemer cannot come from the creature for no category of created being is adequate. No corner of God’s creation has been overlooked. None is worthy. But what does worthy mean here? What then does the scroll represent? It represents the eternal plan of God. At the heart of this plan is the covenant of grace, the plan of redemption. It is this task that is too great for any angel to fulfil. The scroll is to be opened by one individual. He opens it on the basis of his own personal qualification for the task described within it. John weeps because that plan will never be accomplished. His own soul will never be saved, and this must be part of his grief, but it is much more than this. The gospel reveals all the glorious attributes of God, and shows us what we cannot know in any other way. None of this will be seen unless this scroll can be opened.