Worthy is the Lamb

The Story Behind the Song

You can watch the song here.

Darlene Zschech (b. 1965) is an Australian singer, songwriter, worship leader, author and speaker who was part of the massive growth of Hillsong Church in Sydney in the 1990s and early 2000s. She came to be known across the globe in 1996 through her album Shout to the Lord which contained the song of that same name. She currently serves with her husband, Mark, at Hope Unlimited Church (HopeUC) on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

/

Zschech wrote Worthy Is the Lamb, a song saturated with Biblical truth, in 2000. It is a sung prayer in that it is a worshiper’s response to what Jesus has already done. It begins by expressing our immense gratitude to Him “for the price You paid” (…you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God, Revelation 5:9).

/

The song rightly links Jesus’ death on the cross with what made it necessary—our “sin and shame” (…what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?… For the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:21, 23).

/

It reminds us of the “love…and…amazing grace” which compelled Jesus to give His life (God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5:8) and of what it means to be in a right relationship with Him—we’re washed clean, we’re forgiven and we’re embraced by God (…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water, Hebrews 10:22).

/

After the expression of gratitude in the first part of the song for what Jesus did for us, we turn in the second part to conveying the many reasons Jesus is worthy to receive our unadulterated worship.

• He is worthy because He is the Lamb (John the Baptist called Him “…the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”, John 1:29).
• He is worthy because He is seated on the throne of Heaven (Jesus…is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, Hebrews 12:2).
• He is worthy because, as the One Who has received all authority (Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”, Matthew 28:18), He is crowned with many crowns (The one…called Faithful and True… on his head are many diadems, Revelation 19:11-12).
• He is worthy because He was victorious over sin and death (…thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:57 [NLT]).
• He is worthy because of His exalted position (…he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted, Isaiah 52:13).
• He is worthy because He is the Son of God (…these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, John 20:31).

In Heaven, worship is an ongoing event (see Revelation 4:8). When we worship here on earth, whether privately during our quiet times or corporately on Sunday mornings, we simply merge in with that which is continuously underway. We have the privilege of being rightly related to God and therefore communing with Him in worship only because “the Treasure of heaven [was] crucified.” And for that reason we join in the mighty refrain: Worthy is the Lamb! Worthy is the Lamb!

//