He is worthy - what does "worthy" mean?

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “Rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves. 

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

"Worthy" is a very common descriptor regarding Jesus. We have noticed that the prevalence of certain words, much like know-it-by-heart Bible verses, can immunize us to the profundity contained in them. Everyone knows John 3:16, so much so that it is easy to breeze right pass the verse because of its familiarity. We think this same thing happens with the worthiness of Jesus as well.

He is worthy. Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lamb who was slain, the One is seated at the right hand of Majesty, is worthy. Jesus, fairer than ten thousand, ruling the nations with an iron scepter, is worthy. Jesus, the Word of God, Son of Man, and savior of the word, is worthy. We worship Him because He is worthy.

But what is worthy? "Worthy" is "axios." The word is used 41 times in the NT. It means

514 áksios (an adjective derived from aksō, "to weigh") – properly, to weigh in, assigning the matching value ("worth-to-worth"); worthy, i.e. as the assessment in keeping with how something "weighs in" on God's balance-scale of truth.

514 /áksios ("weighed-in") "properly means, 'drawing down the scale' hence 'weighing as much as,' 'of like value, worth,' befitting, congruous, corresponding" (J. Thayer).

[514 (áksios) is the root of the English term, "axis." This also refers to a balance-scale, operating by off-setting weights.]

The application of the word can be either positive or negative:

c. of one who has merited anything, worthy — both in a good reference and a bad. 

For example, 

Lk. 15:21 “The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

Lk. 23:15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.

In a sense, worthy almost seems like an attained status. If you want to compete in the Olympics you have to work hard to attain skill, participate in and win tryouts, and demonstrate an ability to match up with the world's best athletes. If you're selected to the team, you attained worthiness to represent your country in competition. 

But in Jesus' case, He is worthy by nature, not by achievement:

He. 3:3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 

Re. 4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. 

Lk. 3:16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

So Jesus is intrinsically worthy, which means the scale's balance always tilts toward His value. His weight far outweighs anything and everything that could be put in the other side of the scale. It is this unmatched value, weight, that He is. Worthiness weighs more than anything.

In some sense, Jesus also attained (or more precisely, demonstrated) His worthiness by His grandiose act of obtaining the salvation of the nations:

Re. 5:9 And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..." 

He is called worthy because He proved His worth at the Cross. In keeping with His worth, character, and purpose, He acted in a manner that achieved His goal. For this He deserves acclaim: 

Re. 5:12 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!” 

That is the weight of his worthiness.