He is: The Lion of Judah
In Revelation 5, we find the apostle John still in the Heavenly throne room during one of the most amazing events in our future! After waiting for so long since the Fall in Eden, God is finally ready to put his plan into action to restore his children and all creation to Himself. Finally, God and his people will live together again, long-dead family and friends will be reunited, and justice will put an end to all evil forever.
But there is a problem! The blueprints for God’s redemptive plan lie on a scroll with 7 seals, and to initiate the plan, the seals must be broken so that the scroll might be opened, but no one in heaven, on earth or under the earth is worthy to break the seals.
Just when all seems lost, one of the elders comforts John, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” And here’s a mystery because as John turned, he did NOT see a lion, but a lamb looking as if it had been slain.
So, exactly who is Jesus? The Lion of Judah or the Lamb of God? ……………Both! His first coming was as a Lamb to die for our sins and establish the path to eternal life, AND the Lion who will return to resurrect the believers, judge the Earth and put an end to evil.
In the midst of our earthly trials, we should remember that God has a plan to redeem all creation to himself so that one day we might live with him in a perfect world as it was intended in the Garden of Eden. No more sickness, no more death and God’s eternal presence. That is the end game, and from this bird’s eye view, we can endure the trials of this life knowing our time on this imperfect world is so short when viewed from the eternal perspective.
Key Scripture: Revelation 5:1-6
Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.
Application: We have sung and heard it said ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ so many times that it is easy to become desensitised to the enormity of these words. It means so much more than Jesus is ‘worthy’ of our admiration or praise. Jesus as God and most importantly His name ‘The Lion of Judah’ speaks to his character as our saviour and our redeemer, and that His nature is to forgive those who turn from their sins and turn towards Him. Because He is the Lion of Judah, we can have confidence that one day we will live in a perfect state with God, reunited with our loved ones in Christ, that every tear will be wiped away, and injustice and evil will be a long-forgotten memory.
Fraser Hannam