Every Nation, Tribe, and Tongue (Rev. 5:9–10)

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
—Revelation 5:9–10

That’s amazing. This picture of Jesus ushering in the redemptive plan of God for all the nations—for all the peoples, all the languages, all the tribes of the world—bringing men and women from all of them to know and enjoy God forever, to be a part of his kingdom, to reign with him in a new heaven and a new earth. This is where all of history is headed.

Revelation 5:9–10 shows the global scope of Christ’s saving work.

And Revelation 5:9 says it’s all possible because Jesus ransomed people for God by his blood. Jesus paid the price on the cross for people—not just from one nation or one part of the world, not just for people who speak certain languages, but for every single tribe, from every single people group and nation that speaks every language. They’re all going to be represented around the throne of God, singing his praises for his salvation.

How does this change the way we live? Just think about it.

Well, one, it leads us to do what we do every day on this podcast: to pray for the spread of the good news of the ransom of Jesus, and that he has died to set people free from sin and death. We pray for the spread of that good news among every tribe and language and people and nation. It’s why we pray for unreached people groups.

And it’s why we give. It’s why we take the resources God has given to us—that, as we’ll see later in Revelation, are one day going to burn up in this world—and ask, how can we spend them for what’s going to matter far beyond this world? How can we spend our resources for what’s going to matter ten trillion years from now?

Oh, we give to spread this ransom.

Revelation 5:9–10 reminds us that mission flows from worship.

And we go, and we live to spread this ransom among different people groups and languages and nations around us and around the world. This is what we live for. This is the purpose of history—and as a result, it’s the purpose of our lives. Don’t settle for anything less than living daily with zeal to see the ransom of Jesus spread to people around you and to every people, nation, tribe, and language of the world.

Oh God, help us, we pray, to live faithfully for this purpose. As long as we have breath, God, we pray that you would lead our lives however you desire for the spread of your love to all the tribes and languages and peoples and nations of the world.

Jesus, we praise you for giving your life for us and for all the tribes and languages and peoples and nations. So help us to follow the leadership of your Spirit.

A Prayer for the Zaghawa People

God, we pray specifically today for the Zaghawa people of Sudan—for this tribe, this people group: 178,000 Sudanese Arabic–speaking men, women, and children. You died to ransom them, Jesus. We pray that you would make your love known among them through your Church. We pray for your help for our brothers and sisters in Sudan and South Sudan and all the surrounding region—that the Zaghawa people might know your ransom.

God, we pray for that. We pray that you would help us to give freely and sacrificially and generously so that all the nations might know your ransom—your freedom, Jesus, from sin that you’ve made possible by your blood.

And God, we pray that you’d help us to faithfully proclaim this right around us—to share this good news—and, God, to go wherever you might lead us, whether that’s on short-term trips, for a longer period of time, to work in other places, to study in other places, to retire in other places. God, we want to play whatever part you’re giving us to play in making your ransom known in every tribe and language and people and nation.

So please lead our lives toward that end—with confidence that wherever we go in the world, you’ve paid the price for sin. And some people from every tribe and language and people and nation are going to be around your throne on that day.

Oh, may it be so. Oh God, we pray—and may it be so soon. Use our lives to hasten the coming of that day.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.