Only 4 days to go! Today’s song by Leeland is “Lion and the Lamb” from the Album ‘Have It All’. It’s a commanding declaration of God’s nature and character and looks towards Christ’s triumphant return on clouds with power and great glory (Luke 21:27).
We can all be guilty of seeing Jesus in the way we want to, imagining who God is through the lens of whichever situation we are currently walking through. But this will restrict us from walking in the fullness of the truth of who he is. And at its worst we can end up worshipping a God we have created in our minds, an idol that doesn’t truly exist and will end up letting us down.
As we think about Jesus we must look to biblically based truths of who He is. We must declare these truths to ourselves, and to one another, encouraging each other through the revealed Word of God, that we may come to know Jesus and worship Him in all his fullness.
‘Lion and the Lamb’ powerfully captures two seemingly opposing pictures of Jesus; the roaring lion and the sacrificial lamb.
Jesus is described as the Lion of Judah. “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” (Revelation 5:5). This is a fulfilment of God’s promise that Christ would come through the tribe of Judah and the line of David. The roaring lion speaks of strength, majesty, victory, power and royalty. “They will follow the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west” (Hosea 11:10). Christ is the ultimate, true and victorious king. At his roar we all tremble because he is powerful, he is majestic and he reigns. His kingdom is everlasting and at his name every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).
But Jesus is also the lamb. “Then I saw a lamb, looking as if it had been slain,” (Revelation 5:6). He is the roaring lion, but he is also the lamb who was slain, his blood poured out for us. “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The lamb speaks of a God who is gentle, who is kind, who is pure. Jesus came to offer us forgiveness and restore our relationship with him. The sacrificial lamb represents the enormous, undeserved love that God has for his children. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
When you combine the image of Jesus as both the lion and the lamb, we see a God who is powerful yet “gave up his divine privileges…and was born as a human being” (Philippians 2:7). A God who is victorious yet gave up his life for the sake of ours (1 John 3:16). A God who is the ultimate king yet took upon himself the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7).
“‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!’ …’To Him who sits on the throne…be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” (Revelation 5:12-13)
Every time we sing out these words, we must realise the power and the importance of understanding the identity of who Jesus is. As we sing this song together on Saturday, may we understand more fully the reality of who Jesus is. May we come to know Him more, both as the Lion, and as the Lamb!
Thank you God that you are both the roaring lion and the sacrificial lamb, both the almighty God and the loving Father.
Thank you that despite your greatness, you still seek to know me personally and intimately.
Help me to understand more of who you are, of your character, of your nature and of your love for your people.
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