The Lion and the Lamb
"Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain (Rev. 5.5-6).
The book of Revelation is a series of visions. These visions are really powerful pictures that are designed to give hope to the believer in Christ. Pictures can minister to use on a whole different level than a well-reasoned argument. Pictures stay with us when abstract ideas may not always remain in our thoughts. The visions of Revelation minister to us on an emotional and heart-igniting level.
And there is perhaps no picture more powerful in Revelation, or in all of Scripture, than this vision of Jesus as Lion and Lamb. John is seeing a vision of Christ and helping us to see Him too, perhaps in a fresh way, and certainly in a necessary way. Seeing Christ clearly is what ignites our hope. Let's see Him as Lion and as the Lamb. Here are two pictures that seem to contradict, according to earthly wisdom, and could only be brought together in Christ.
First, see Jesus as the Lion. Here is the Lion of Judah – the King who is David's son – and was promised an eternal throne. He is a lion because He is victorious, having conquered both death and the Devil. He told John that "I have the keys of death and Hades." In times of weakness, both physical and spiritual, and in times when the reality of death is staring us straight in the face, we need to see the victorious Lion of Judah who could not be held by the grave and has the power of an endless life. In times of evil in the Earth and when we feel the tug and pull of temptation we need to see the Lion who has already dealt the fatal blow to the old Serpent's head.
He is a Lion because He is strong and powerful, has already overcome, and is now seated in the Throne of God. This book of Revelation does not show us a Christ who will reign only in the future, but who is actually reigning now, visible not to the eyes of flesh but only to the eyes of faith. And He is governing the World, unveiling the purpose of God for the consummation of history. There is no power on earth or even in the spiritual world that has ascended higher than the Lord's Christ. And no opposition, no matter how intimidating to the Flesh, can successfully resist His reign. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord -- it is only a matter of time.
He is the Lion seated on a throne, not as a ceremonial position, but to actually make judgments, as all rulers must do. God will judge the World through Him and every man must stand before His judgment seat to give an account of deeds done in the body.
I believe this picture of Christ as a conquering lion is of particular comfort to persecuted saints. The Church may seem weak and vulnerable, but the gates of Hell cannot prevail against Her! This is not because believers are so strong but because our Savior has overcome and is reigning.
But see Him also as a Lamb – not just a lamb but THE LAMB. Look at the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is a Lamb because He humbled Himself. A lion is strong and powerful, but not a lamb. A lamb is tender and helpless. It is amazing to think of how our Lord humbly laid aside His great power, putting Himself in a place where He could be mistreated and harmed by men.
And the ultimate humility and humiliation came when He laid down His life, becoming weak and vulnerable, He who had with His Word created the Worlds. He was crucified through weakness. He laid down His life. No man took it from Him against His will. If the lion represents the power of His deity, the lamb represents the weakness and humility of His humanity. And our Lord was both God and man. But He did not redeem us by being the lion only, but by becoming the Lamb. A payment for sin was needed that would satisfy God while also redeeming men. Only in Christ are these two things brought together and accomplished: satisfying the righteousness of God and standing as a substitute in the place of sinful men. By becoming a Lamb He has successfully purchased men for God, redeeming them from the power of sin and death. This could not have been accomplished through the power of the lion, but only through the death of the lamb. He bore our sins in His body on the Tree and He who knew no sin became sin for us.
This Lamb who is also a Lion is now in Heaven itself because He has successfully opened the way for us to come to God. Through the blood of the Lamb we have confidence to approach the Throne by this new and living way that He has opened for us.
So when we look at Christ today and see Him clearly we see Him as the Lion who is a lamb.
What do we see when we put these two visions together? We begin to understand the wisdom of God, a wisdom that is foolish to the World. Here is the One who won the victory through submission. Sinful man is a rebel who asserts his own will above the will of God. Here is the One who submitted to God's will above His own. This is the triumph of humility and weakness rather than victory through power and strength. The World proudly grasps at power. Here is one who humbly let it go, considering His very equality with God a thing NOT to be grasped, or held on to, but made himself nothing, volunteering to be a servant instead. And that act of humility, submission, and weakness is precisely why God exalted Him to the highest place.
God will do the same for those who follow Him.
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