Revelations 1:5b-6: 5To the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Verse 5 in English translation can be split into two parts. After John mentions Jesus at the beginning of verse 5, he bursts into doxology in the second half, which continues into verse 6. This sentence says a lot about what Jesus has done for us. The sequence of human experience in this doxology is significant. First comes the idea that Jesus loves us. God in Christ initiated the solution to the human problem because God is love, a key Johannine theme. The tense of the substantival participle loves (agapōnti) is present, indicating the timelessness and relevance of Jesus’ love.
The opportunity that Jesus’ love gives us is to be freed from sins. The end of verse 5 describes redemption from sin. The means by which we experience forgiveness is through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Through his death, Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice Lamb of God, paid the penalty of our sins through his self-sacrifice. The cross serves as the most vivid example of divine love. Many of John’s readers likely faced difficulties because of their faith. Their freedom was not political but spiritual, which is infinitely more significant and cannot be taken away.
A second outcome of Jesus’ love in the sequence is that believers become a kingdom of priests. John, like 1 Peter 2:9-10, reflects on an Old Testament idea found in Exodus 19:5-6, that Israel was to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The difference between ancient Israel and the church is that the church does not need to struggle to be a kingdom of priests or a holy people because of God’s grace. Israel struggled and failed to keep God’s laws and became inward-focused on ritual and legalism. Those who trust in Jesus and receive his forgiveness can now fulfill the terms of the covenant because of the sacrifice of his blood on the cross. Significantly for most of John’s readers is that this kingdom is for all people, from every tribe, language, nation, and ethnic group. No one is left out. Jesus is our high priest, and we all serve God the Father through and under him.
The final result in this short doxology is the recognition of Jesus’ sovereignty in our lives and in the world. The grammar and sentence structure indicate that the pronoun to him refers to Jesus and not God the Father, though ultimately, by glorifying Jesus, we glorify the Father who sent him. Much of Revelation focuses on the redemption God provides through Jesus. It is a book of praise for what Jesus has done and will do for the readers, who should respond with continued faith and obedience.