So if you find yourself in a situation where you are beaten down on a daily basis you need to hear some encouragement and you need to hear that you will one day win. Revelation is a letter written to a fledgling Christian community that one day they will win. That victory may not take place during their life or on this earth, but one day they will win.
A scroll and its seal normally means that there is a message from the ruler and only certain people are able to read that message because the seal with which it is sealed can only be opened by the person to whom it was addressed. God is the ruler in Revelation 5 and the message that God has written is one that speaks of His victory. The only person who is worthy to open the scroll and to tell about the victory is God himself. The only person who is worthy to recount how we have won the battle is the one who won the battle for us. That would be Jesus.
John was sad because no one on earth was worthy to open the scroll. Isn’t that always the case? We are no worthy, only God is worthy and only God can give us insight into what he has planned next. So while the scroll is not opened in this chapter, this chapter does present to us the fact that only one is worthy to open the scroll. Only one is able to relay to us the victory that is to take place. That is Jesus.