Lamb and Lion
“The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I (the Apostle John) saw a Lamb standing as if slaughtered. . . . Revelation 5:5-6
In a Bible study this week, we marveled that Jesus is revealed in scripture as both a lion and a lamb. Having grown up on a farm, I loved the baby lambs we had. They were gentle, and needed to be cared for diligently if their mother died or rejected them. Lions, on the other hand, are powerful, and represent kingship.
The apostle John, one of Jesus’ closest followers, received amazing visions of Jesus, heaven, mighty angels, and much more while he was exiled on the island of Patmos. John described these visions in the book of Revelation, and together these passages help us to grow our appreciation, of our Lord Jesus, Son of God, the Savior of the world, who came to lay down His life for us, and save us from sin and death.
The scripture above describes a surprising, dramatic scene in heaven. God is seated on the throne, and He is holding a scroll that is sealed with seven seals. It seems that no one is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll. But then an elder says to John, “Look! The Lion of Judah has triumphed, and he can open the scroll!”
And John sees a Lamb, looking like it had been slain—and this is no ordinary lamb. This is Jesus, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. As the Lamb takes up the scroll, the many thousands of angels in heaven and all the creatures and elders around the throne sing out, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
During this season of Lent, spending some time pondering these amazing images of Jesus can profoundly affect us , and deepen our faith. As Augustine, accepted by many scholars to be one of the most important figures in the ancient Western church wrote, “He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion."
Thank you, Jesus, both Lamb and Lion, for our salvation. Help us to live by faith in You. Amen.
Inspired by a Today Devotion