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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Jesus - The Lion And The Lamb
In Revelation 4 the Apostle John is transported into
Heaven. He must have been terrified
and overcome with awe and amazement as he saw the throne of God, a host
of angels, beasts, elders, and the judgments that would come to the
earth. In Revelation 5 John
saw a very important scroll in Heaven that needed to be opened
but no one was found that could open it. John
felt extremely perplexed, confused and full of sorrow about this and
began to cry uncontrollably. Seeing
these tears, one of the 24 elders told him that there was someone in the
universe that could unlock the seals that bound this scroll.
The elder proclaimed that the “Lion of the tribe of I can picture John attempting to wipe his tears as he
turned around to see what he thought would be a mighty lion.
Still confused and dazed he turned and wondered where the lion
was. He only saw a lamb that
looked liked one of the
slain sacrificial temple lambs. He
must have now felt even more confused and maybe thought that the elder
had misspoken. Then with
great relief, understanding came to him.
God’s Lion is a Lamb, and not just any Lamb, but the Lamb of
God who took away the sin of the world.
In one dramatic moment John experienced the true
nature of who Jesus is. This
is the Lamb of God who was John’s friend.
They lived, laughed and cried together for 3 short years.
John stood at the foot of the cross and watched Him die. Yet
Jesus is more than the sacrificial Lamb.
He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the only one in the
universe who has both the power and authority to open the seven seals
that would release final judgments on the earth.
It is necessary that we understand what John
understood in this vision. The
Biblical truth of Jesus is represented in the Lion and the Lamb.
Jesus is both the Lion who is authoritative and powerful, yet at
the same time He is the sacrificial Lamb who gave His life for our
salvation. Jesus’ roll as
Lord demonstrates the authoritative power of a Lion.
His roll as Christ demonstrates the atoning sacrifice of a Lamb.
We cannot separate these two aspects of who Jesus is,
and we cannot emphasize one over the other.
He is one hundred percent Lion and one hundred percent Lamb. Some
minimize Jesus as Lion by saying He wouldn’t bring judgment as seen in
the book of Revelation. Others
preach fire and brimstone to such a degree that they overlook the love
of the Lamb. Some day we’ll experience what John experience here
in Revelation 5 when we meet Jesus face to face.
My guess is that at first glance we’ll be very frightened, so
frightened that we’ll want to run as fast as we can from Him.
But there’s no place to run to.
As we take a second glance at Him we’ll simply fall on our
faces in deep appreciation and humility, understanding completely that
the Lion is reaching out His arms to us as a loving Lamb.
There’s a powerful dichotomy here.
Jesus is fully Lion and He is fully Lamb. For
those who have accepted His grace, we’ll see the authority of the Lion
and experience the love of the Lamb.
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