Music Speaks: Is He Worthy? part 2 – Scripture in song

“Is He Worthy?” sung by Chris Tomlin has a chorus filled with Scripture references. In this new series, Music Speaks, I’ll show the connection between Scripture and song. In this post, the second devoted to this song, we’ll focus on names of Jesus found in the chorus.

Is He Worthy? part two

Ok, so I didn’t set out to do a two part post on the song “Is He Worthy?” I just didn’t want the debut post of this “Music Speaks” series to be so long that nobody would have time to read it.

So much Scripture is reflected in this song. I do realize that if you are new to reading the Bible or the Book of Revelation, that this is a pretty intense and crazy introduction to the Bible, probably generating more questions than answers.

Questions

That’s ok. Reading the Bible is about discovery. Questions are a good thing. We ask questions of a person when we want to know more about them. When we have questions about the Bible, we are engaged with what’s in it, and that’s good. Let your questions motivate you to keep looking and searching the Scriptures. That’s what I do.

Chorus:  Is He Worthy?

Speaking of questions and discovery, in the second half of the chorus we see names of Jesus: Lion of Judah, Root of David, Lamb, and ransom. Where can we find Bible verses that reflect these?

Names of Jesus

If this is your first introduction to Revelation, those names may be a bit confusing. Where did they come from?

Tribe of Judah

From the Old Testament book 1 Chronicles 28:4 we find the tribe of Judah. Read chapter 28 for context.

King David is speaking:

“Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel.” 1 Chronicles 28:4 NIV

We found Judah, but what does he have to do with Jesus?

Genealogy of Jesus

If we look at the beginning of the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew, we stumble upon the genealogy of Jesus. I say stumble because most people like to skip this chapter, but we’ll dive in to discover the treasure.

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

and Jesse the father of King David. Matthew 1:1,2,6a NIV

King David connection

Bet you didn’t think you would actually read a Bible genealogy now did you? But that’s not all. Do you see how these two Bible passages are connected? Both include King David.

Look at you, connecting Scripture from the Old and New Testament. Way to go! Don’t you just feel smarter? Hold that thought, we have two more descriptors to go.

Lamb and ransom

Our remaining two Bible passages include the descriptions of Lamb and ransom.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 NIV

[This is John the Baptist speaking, not the author of the Gospel of John.]

^“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 NIV

Remember

These are great New Testament verses to remember. They describe who Jesus is and what He did for us. By the way, notice I said “remember” and not “memorize.” I am lousy at memorizing Scripture, so I don’t put that pressure on myself. I do, however, try to remember what Scripture says, especially passages like these.

From the chorus of “Is He Worthy?” and the Scripture passages we find connection in the Old Testament to Jesus’ story and, through New Testament verses, we are reminded of God’s great love for us through His Son.

This beautiful song can help us remember and rest in the truth of these words.

Worthy is the Lamb.