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“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.

Music speaks

Reading the Bible has helped me recognize the Scripture connection to songs I am hearing. Here is a look at the connection to “Is He Worthy?” sung by Chris Tomlin.

Welcome to this first music post. I’ll look at songs on a regular basis, interspersed with the other types of posts featured in this blog.

Christian songs

I enjoy listening to Christian songs on the radio. When I worked in the music department at a Christian bookstore, people would come into the store asking for a song they had heard. They didn’t know the name of the song or the artist and could only recall some words. I had fun figuring out their request based on a few random clues or phrases.

Songs speak      

Some songs are just fun to listen to and others really speak into an aspect of my life or a situation I am dealing with.

As I began reading more of the Bible, I started to recognize phrases from the Bible in the melodies I was hearing. I wonder if you have too.

Song: Is He Worthy?

When I first heard “Is He Worthy?” performed by Chris Tomlin, I was driving in my car. The music enveloped me. I also loved the call and response aspect and the incorporation of a choir.

Recognized words

The chorus drew me in. I recognized words like, “worthy, seal, and scroll,” and realized I knew them from Scripture. I didn’t know where in Scripture, but I knew they were from the Bible.

Recognizing Scripture references was cause for celebration. Years ago that wouldn’t have been the case. Not until I gathered some friends together and we read through the whole Bible, did I have this background knowledge to realize some of these lyrics were direct from Scripture.

Scripture references

I’ve heard “Is He Worthy?” several times now and recognized quite a few phrases as having Scripture references. For the sake of brevity I’ll focus on the chorus.

Chorus

The title of the song gives us the focal point of the question, who is worthy? A Scripture that focuses on this phrase is in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. This is also reflected in the first half of the chorus.

² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” Revelation 5:2 NIV

The second half of the chorus reflects elements of this next verse:

⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5 NIV

The Lion of Judah is Jesus!

Revelation

Recognizing Scripture from the last book of the Bible was a personal victory for me. I don’t know if I ever would have read Revelation on my own if I hadn’t read it as a part of a group. Some of the fun of reading with a group is muddling through the sections of Scripture you don’t understand, together.

Continue reading

Notice both of these verses come from Revelation chapter five. As I continued reading in this chapter, I saw the answer to the question, “Who is worthy?” In addition, I recognized words of praise like “honor and glory,” and, from the bridge of the song, the words “people, priests, and reign.” These are all found in Revelation 5:9-10.

Just by reading a little further past the verse I had initially noticed, I discovered additional verses connected to the song and unfolding scene. By reading these words in the Bible, the next time I heard the song, the experience was even more moving.

Listen

I encourage you to listen to the song (link below) and read Revelation chapter five, even if you’ve never opened your Bible or read from the Book of Revelation. For me, finding these connections between Scripture and song helps me remember what’s in the Bible and to keep searching and reading the Scriptures.

This song is beautiful. Hearing words that come directly from the Bible is powerful. Allow yourself to really connect with the song, and as you do, recognize that the real heart behind this song is based in Scripture.

When you read these words in your own Bible, you, too, can experience the depth of knowing this Scripture song connection.

We’ll look at one last verse from this chapter. In verse twelve, countless angels are speaking.

¹² In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:12 NIV

He is.

Here’s a link to the song if you want to give it a listen.

What aspect of this song speaks to you?