Jesus died on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb of God, but when he rose from the dead he did so as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
In C.S. Lewis’ classic, The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan the lion represents Jesus Christ. Aslan allows himself to be put to death by the evil witch, but returned to life to destroy her rule and release all those who had been enslaved through her magic. Below is one of the more memorable passages.
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
People like to imagine that Jesus is quite safe, sort of a household god who can be relied upon to rescue us from hell and take care of our needs along the way. However, just as was the case with Aslan, Jesus has never been really “safe.” It can be extremely unnerving to be his follower, and we never know what he may do or ask us to do next. But he is always good, and he is the King whose glory and power now fill all things. When he emerged from the tomb, the Lamb had become a Lion.
The Lamb of God
Just as John the Baptist prophesied, Jesus died on the cross as the Lamb of God, taking upon himself the guilt and punishment for our rebellion against God.
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7 (NLT)
Jesus’ role as the Lamb of God was the safest for us and the most costly for him. He did nothing to retaliate against his accusers and oppressors. He gave no demonstration of his power and authority. He simply and quietly submitted to death at their hands to fulfill God’s plan. Some people imagine that is how he always is.
His first coming to the earth accomplished God’s purpose to redeem and reconcile a remnant of humanity back to the Father and bring the world back under God’s proper authority and dominion as the Second Adam, the head and source of a new race of people through the new birth.
As the Lamb, Jesus did all the heavy lifting on our behalf. By rebelling against God, we earned the sentence of death, which is the unavoidable consequence of sin. Father God asked Jesus to lay down his life for us by taking upon himself God’s righteous anger and condemnation against our sin.
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT)
The law of sin and death is part of the law of sowing and reaping. If we sin, we die. By taking our just condemnation upon himself, Jesus released us from the law of sin and death.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
Instead of remaining under God’s judgment, according to Romans 8:1-2, we who believe are now under a new law, which is called the law of the Spirit of life.
It might be summarized as follows: we sinned, Jesus died, and now we live. Quite a deal the Lamb worked out for us! As Jesus put it:
I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. John 5:24 (NLT)
The only way we can pass from death to life is because Jesus already did. He died and rose again. When we put our faith and allegiance in Christ, we participate in his victory over sin and the grave!
As God’s Lamb, Jesus invites us to come to him and be released from the burden of our sin and the requirement to perfectly keep the Law.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
This is the “safe” Jesus, the Lamb who laid down his life for us and offers rest for our weary souls.
This is the one who bears our burdens for us and takes care not to overload us. This is the only way many people know Jesus, but it is only part of the story. The Lamb is also a Lion.
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
When Jesus rose from the dead, he emerged from the tomb as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. John the Revelator was privileged to see a vision of the risen Lamb who had become a Lion and passed it on to us.
Then I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll and read it. 5 But one of the twenty-four elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered,... 7 He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Revelation 5:4-13 (NLT)
This amazing vision reveals that the risen and ascended Jesus still retains his identity as God’s Lamb, but in a transformed way. Even though the Lamb carries the marks of death, he is alive and is also a glorious lion-like figure.
This visionary symbol takes us back to the first book of the Bible when Jacob blessed his sons upon his deathbed, looking far into the future as a prophet.
Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. Genesis 49:9-10 (NLT)
As you no doubt guessed, in Matthew’s gospel, although Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph, Jesus’ adoptive father, descended from the tribe of Judah, provided Jesus with full legal rights as a member of that tribe. He was the one about whom Jacob prophesied in Genesis. He is the Lion, the King whom all nations will honor.
When Jesus rose from the dead, Paul said he was declared to be the Son of God, which can be understood as the long awaited divine Messianic King descended from King David.
and he [Jesus] was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ [Messiah] our Lord. Romans 1:4 (NLT)
Before his resurrection, Isaiah prophesied that he would be despised and rejected by men, which happened. (Isaiah 53:3)
But now, having risen from the dead, Jesus is not one to take lightly. He is the Lord.
King David wrote these prophetic words centuries ago as he, by the Spirit, looked forward to the Lamb who became the Lion King.
Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! 11 Serve the LORD with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities— for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him! Psalm 2:10-12 (NLT)
This is not the safe version of Jesus. This is not Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane who passively yielded to the soldiers. This passage paints a picture of the coming King who will exact vengeance upon his enemies. Do we know this Jesus?
The lion-like Messianic King is a dangerous person for those who resist his rule. He is still the Lamb for those who know him as their shepherd, though. The choice is ours regarding how we will know and experience him.
The Glorious Son of Man
Paul wrote that one day every knee will bow to Jesus and every mouth acknowledge his majesty and glory. This will happen when he returns in the clouds with his people and the angels at his side to execute God’s righteous judgment upon all people both living and the dead.
The Lamb who became a Lion will appear in the sky as the glorious Son of Man, whom Daniel the prophet saw prophetically and wrote about so long ago.
As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 (NLT)
When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin the night before his crucifixion, he humbled himself by allowing a mockery of a human court to judge him, God’s Son, as a blasphemer and sentence him to a brutal death. But before they led him away to die as God’s Lamb, our Lord’s gave his final testimony before that court, identifying himself as the Son of Man in Daniel’s prophecy.
Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. Matthew 26:62-65 (NLT)
When the Lamb of God who was slain returns in the clouds as the mighty Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah, and the glorious Son of Man, those who accused and condemned him come before him to be held accountable for what they said and did. What do you think they will say? Will they still despise him? Will they not fall on their faces in absolute dread and horror for their heinous crime of rejecting the Messiah and putting him to death? And what about those of us who still refuse his offer of forgiveness and still choose not to acknowledge his Lordship? What will we say on that day?
Conclusion
Christ’s resurrection was a great day in the history of the world.
But consider this. As great as the resurrection was, the Second Coming will be even more glorious.His resurrection was witnessed by a few, but his glorious return will be seen by the whole earth.
When Jesus sits on the judgment seat as the glorious Son of Man, every person who ever lived will be forced to acknowledge his glory and greatness. We presently have the privilege of acknowledging his glorious lordship before that terrible day of the Lord. All those who choose to put their trust and allegiance in Christ and surrender their lives to his loving rule will be saved from their sins and brought into the family of God. His Second Coming will hold no terror for us, because as God’s Lamb he took our condemnation upon himself, bringing us into a proper alignment with him.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:16-18 (NLT)
The gospel is an invitation to lay down our rebellion against God and enter into a love-servant relationship with the Lamb who became the Lion King of Judah.
The greatest transforming power in the universe if God’s love. It is the key to everything, and it is only available through the Lamb of God.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NLT)
If you have never done so, let today be the day that you publicly acknowledge that he is both your Lord and your Savior, your Lion and Lamb. Don’t miss this golden opportunity! If you have already confessed that Jesus is the Lord, recommit yourself to follow him with all your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you a bold witness to his lordship.
Prayer
Jesus, you are far greater and more glorious than I previously imagined. I choose to bow my knee before you. I acknowledge that you are the Lord. I thank you for dying for my sins as God’s Lamb. I receive your forgiveness and the life you provide in your Spirit. Help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen.
