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Christ: The Lion and the Lamb
Palm
Sunday
God has absolute control of all future
history and everything that happens in it. We ought to submit to the
authority of our King, our Creator and the Ruler of all things.
.
The scroll contains God's plans for the future: the struggles and victories of the gospel as well as the judgments on those who reject it. The opening of the seals is the course of history leading up to the end. God holds all of the future in his right hand. He wrote the script for what will take place and no one can change it.
.
No creature in the universe is worthy to reveal
and execute the final decrees of God. Christ was qualified to open the seals. Without
Christ there will be only weeping. Jesus Christ is utterly necessary for every
one of us. He alone is worthy to open the seals and execute the final decrees
of God.
.
There is one person who can open the scroll, namely, the Lion of Judah. And the reason that he is worthy to open the scroll is that he has conquered. He was slain and by his blood ransomed men for God.
.
The Lion of Judah conquered
because he was willing to act the part of a Lamb. He came into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday like a King on the way to a throne, and he went out of Jerusalem on
Good Friday like a Lamb on the way to the slaughter. He conquered sin and death
and Satan not just because he was a Lion, but because he was a Lamb-like Lion. It
was one of those classic tactical defeats that results in a strategic
victory. The Lion gets the victory through the tactics of the Lamb. But
not only is he a Lamb-like Lion. He is also a Lion-like Lamb.
.
The Lamb is standing. It is not slumped in a heap on the ground as it once was. It had been slain. But now it is standing — standing in the innermost circle next to the throne. The Lamb has seven horns. A horn is a symbol of strength and power. And the number seven signifies fullness and completeness. if you trust him as your Lamb, and submit to him as your Lion, and join the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and the millions of angels to worship the King of kings with all your heart.
Resource
by John
Piper
Topic: The Person of Christ
“And no
one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to
look into it, and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll
or to look into it.
“Then
one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep not; lo, 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, with seven horns and with seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; and he
went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the
throne.
“And
when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls
full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; and they sang a new song,
saying,
“’Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to
open its seals, for thou was slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and hast made them a kingdom
and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.’" - Revelation 5:1-10
What Makes a Truly
Admirable Woman or Man
Noël and I have discussed often over the years what makes a
truly admirable woman and a truly admirable man.
One of the conclusions we have come to is that no man is truly
admirable who does not have a measure of the more feminine qualities, and no
woman is truly admirable who does not have a measure of the more masculine
qualities.
A woman who acts too much like a man we regard as unnatural. We
may pity her or even be offended by her, but we don't admire her.
And a man who acts too much like a woman we regard as unnatural.
We may pity him or even be offended by him, but we don't admire him.
But neither do we admire the man who is typically called
"all man" or the woman who is typically called "all woman."
Both of those phrases usually suggest a man or a woman who is
too narrow and too simple. They don't have the complexity and harmony of
personality that makes a person rise in our admiration.
These phrases make us think of people who are only able to
respond with one kind of response and feel one kind of feeling and think one
kind of thought.
To admire that is like saying that a male chorus would be more
male if they all sang bass. And a women's chorus would be more female if they
all sang soprano. Well, that may be true, but they wouldn't be the better for
it.
There is a real difference between a male chorus and a female
chorus, just like there is a difference between an admirable man and an
admirable woman.
But what makes the male chorus sound great is that some of the
voices have a more feminine quality. And what makes a women's chorus sound
great is that some of the voices have a more masculine quality.
People who know music know what the balance should be. And
people who are good judges of character know what balance and blend is
admirable in a person too.
The highest and deepest and most admirable beauties in my life
are not simple things. They are complex.
A Principle About Beauty
and Admirableness
The reason I mention this is not because I want to talk about the
difference between male and female today, but simply to illustrate a principle
of beauty or excellence or admirableness.
I want you to think seriously today about what makes a person
truly beautiful or excellent or admirable or praiseworthy.
The principle that I am trying to illustrate and that makes
Christ stand out as absolutely unique is this: beauty or excellence consists in
the right proportion of diverse qualities.
For example:
§ we
admire him for his glory, but even more because his glory is mingled with
humility;
§ we
admire him for his transcendence, but even more because his transcendence is
accompanied by condescension;
§ we
admire him for his uncompromising justice, but even more because it is tempered
with mercy;
§ we
admire him for his majesty, but even more because it is a majesty in meekness;
§ we
admire him because of his equality with God, but even more because as God's
equal he nevertheless has a deep reverence for God;
§ we
admire him because of how worthy he was of all good, but even more because this
was accompanied by an amazing patience to suffer evil;
§ we
admire him because of his sovereign dominion over the world, but even more
because this dominion was clothed with a spirit of obedience and submission;
§ we love
the way he stumped the proud scribes with his wisdom, and we love it even more
because he could be simple enough to like children and spend time with them;
§ and we
admire him because he could still the storm, but even more because he refused
to use that power to strike the Samaritans with lightning and he refused to use
it to get himself down from the cross.
The list could go on and on. Do you see what I mean when I say
that beauty and excellency in person is not a simple thing? It is complex.
It is a coming together in one person of the perfect balance and
proportion of extremely diverse qualities. And that's what makes Jesus Christ
so irresistibly admirable and excellent.
You Were Made to Admire
Jesus Christ
The human heart was made to stand in awe of ultimate excellence —
you were made to admire Jesus Christ the Son of God — Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, King of kings, and Lord of lords — and
if your heart is not much taken up with him, then you don't need to look any
farther to know the deepest source of your frustration.
A student once asked
Bonaventure, the medieval Franciscan teacher, "Why don't men love God more?"
And he answered, "They don't love him because they don't
know him."
That's the way I feel about Christ this morning.
Surely, if I can display for you just a flicker of the
excellency of Christ today, you will love him and trust him and follow him, no
matter what it costs.
That's my prayer for you (and for you who read this
manuscript!).
John's Vision of Jesus in
the Throne Room
I begin with the text by directing your attention to Revelation 5:5.
John is receiving a
vision of the throne room of heaven. "Then
one of the elders said to me, 'Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has conquered.'"
So Jesus here is described as a Lion, an animal who makes prey
of others and who is strong and wild and majestic and dangerous. (See
the prophecy in Genesis 49:9–10.)
But then in verse 6 John is allowed to see this Lion.
But what he sees must have been a surprise after the words of
the elder in verse 5.
It says, "And between the throne and the four
living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had
been slain."
So here is the point that I want to make this morning:
Because Jesus is a Lion-like Lamb and a Lamb-like Lion, he has the
right to bring the world to an end for the glory of his name and the good of
his people.
Three Preliminary
Observations
To see how this truth comes out of the text, let's make three
preliminary observations.
1. God's Absolute Control
of History
The first is that God has absolute control of all future history
and everything that happens in it.
This is the point of
verse 1: "And I saw in the right
hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the
back, sealed with seven seals."
What is this scroll with its writing on both sides and its seven
seals?
The scroll represents the decrees of God concerning what will
happen in the future. You can see this in chapter 6 as one seal after the other
is opened and more and more is revealed of the judgments coming on the earth.
Opening the first seal in Revelation 6:1–2 reveals the rider
of a white horse going out to conquer, and probably represents the advance of
the gospel in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Opening the second seal in verses 3–4 reveals a red horse
signifying how in the days leading up to the end of the world men would slay
one another with the sword.
The opening of the third and fourth seals points to famine and
other judgments.
And so on it goes as Christ opens the seals of the scroll and
displays for John what was going to happen in the future. The one who opens the
seals reveals and executes the decrees of God.
So the scroll contains God's plans for the future: the struggles
and victories of the gospel as well as the judgments on those who reject it.
The opening of the seals is the course of history leading up to
the end. And the rest of the scroll is the story of the end of the world and
the final triumph of God's kingdom.
Now notice that the scroll is in the right hand of God.
Verse 1: "And I saw in the right hand of him who
was seated on the throne a scroll."
God holds all of the future in his right hand. He wrote the
script for what will take place and no one can change it. He has it in his own
right hand.
If the kingdom of Christ finally conquers and judgment finally
falls on the unbelieving world, it will be because God holds all things firmly
in his right hand.
Then notice that he is
called one "who was seated on the
throne."
This simply confirms that he rules in the universe. His throne
represents his right and authority and power to govern the world the way he
sees fit.
The completeness of his rule and the perfection of his decrees
is signified by the fact that the scroll is written within and on the back.
In other words, the scroll is packed. There are no spaces for
later additions, as though the King of the universe could overlook some
eventuality. The plan is complete, it is full, it is safe in the right hand of
the King, and he is on the throne.
What we learn from this is that we ought to submit to the
authority of our King, our Creator (Revelation 4:11) and
the Ruler of all things.
A picture of God's sovereign rule over all that will happen
should bring us to our faces in reverence and fear.
That's the first preliminary observation.
2. No Creature Worthy to
Open the Scroll
The second observation is that no creature in the universe is
worthy to reveal and execute the final decrees of God.
Verses 2–3: "And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?' And
no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or
to look into it."
Why doesn't God himself simply remove the seals of the scroll of
history and reveal its contents and bring about the consummation of his
kingdom?
We will see the answer in just a moment when we read why Christ
was qualified to open the seals.
But in advance, the answer is that the end of history, contained
in this scroll, is going to bring such astounding privileges and happiness to
repentant sinners who deserve only condemnation that God would be unrighteous
to bring it to pass by himself.
It would look as though he didn't care that we have trampled his
glory in the dirt.
It would look as though he could just sweep our sin under the
rug of the universe.
Something must be done to demonstrate the righteousness of God
if the opening of this scroll is going to bring infinite blessing upon
repentant sinners who deserve only condemnation.
If God were to open the scroll himself without any mediator,
without any go-between, and deal directly with sinful man, we would all be
consumed and there would be no salvation at all.
Someone must be found who is worthy to take the scroll and open
it.
And the point of verses 2–3 is that there is no creature in all
the universe who can do it.
No angel in heaven, no man on earth, no devil in hell can touch
this scroll and do what needs to be done to bring the consummation of the
kingdom.
So the lessons we learn from this second observation could be
many. I'll just mention two!
1. First,
that God is a God of love because he will not open the seals of history without
the hands of a Savior.
2. Second,
that no one — not your friend or spouse or parent or child or boss or teacher —
no one but Jesus can make your future bright. Without him all is meaningless
and fearful.
3. Only Weeping
Without Jesus
Which leads us very
briefly to the third observation from verse 4: "And I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll
or to look into it."
The third observation is that without Christ there will be only
weeping.
If there is no one found who is worthy to open the scroll, then
there will be no triumph for the gospel, no marriage supper with the Lamb, no
new heaven and new earth, no eternal life. Only weeping.
Therefore Jesus Christ is utterly necessary for every one of us.
He alone is worthy to open the seals and execute the final decrees of God.
Jesus' Right as the Lion
and the Lamb
That brings us to verses 5 and 6 and the main point where we
began:
Because Jesus is a Lion-like Lamb and a Lamb-like Lion, he has the
right to bring the world to an end for the glory of his name and the good of
his people.
Now let's read verse 5
again in the light of the three observations we have made. "Then one of the elders said to me, 'Weep not; lo, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the
scroll and its seven seals.'"
There is one person who can open the scroll, namely, the Lion of
Judah. And the reason that he is worthy to open the scroll is that he has
conquered.
But what does this conquering refer to? We can see that clearly
in verse 9.
Here the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fall
down and worship the Lamb, and they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for
thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation, and hast make them a kingdom and priests to our
God and they shall reign on earth.”
Now notice carefully the relationship between verse 5 and verse
9.
In verse 5 the reason the Lion of Judah can open the scroll is
that he has conquered.
In verse 9 the reason he can open the scroll is because he was
slain and by his blood ransomed men for God.
In other words, his right to open the scroll is owing to the
fact that he ransomed people for God by his death, and this ransoming was the
victory referred to in verse 5.
A Lamb-Like Lion
What sort of Lion was he? He was a Lamb-like Lion.
The Lion of Judah conquered because he was willing to act the
part of a Lamb.
He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday like a King on the way to
a throne, and he went out of Jerusalem on Good Friday like a Lamb on the way to
the slaughter.
He drove out the robbers from the Temple like a Lion devouring
its prey. And then at the end of the week he gave his majestic neck to the
knife, and they slaughtered the Lion of Judah like a Lamb.
So he conquered sin and death and Satan not just because he was
a Lion, but because he was a Lamb-like Lion.
It was one of those classic tactical defeats that results in a
strategic victory. Jonathan Edwards captures the
paradox of a victorious loser with another familiar comparison.
The devil had, as it were, swallowed up Christ, as the whale did
Jonah; but it was deadly poison to him; he gave him a mortal wound in his own
bowels. He was soon sick of his morsel, and was forced to do by him as the
whale did by Jonah. To this day he is heart-sick of what he then swallowed as
his prey. (Works, vol. 1, p. 685)
The Lion gets the victory through the tactics of the Lamb.
You could use another Old Testament comparison to show the same
thing, namely, Samson.
And thus the true Samson does more towards the destruction of
his enemies at his death than in his life; in yielding up himself to death, he
pulls down the temple of Dagon, and destroys many thousands of his enemies,
even while they are making themselves sport in his sufferings. (Edwards, Works, vol. 1, p. 685)
The Lion Samson gets the decisive victory when he takes the roll
of the sacrificial Lamb and dies.
So it is with Christ.
The Lion of Judah, the Root of David,
o has conquered sin (Hebrews 1:3; 1 Corinthians
15:56)
o and
death (2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:25f., 56)
o and Satan (Hebrews 2:14f.; Colossians 2:15).
And he did it when he took the roll of a Lamb and died.
A Lion-Like Lamb
But not only is he a Lamb-like Lion. He is also a Lion-like
Lamb.
Verse 6: "And between the throne and the four
living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had
been slain, with seven horns."
Notice two things.
First, notice that the
Lamb is standing. It is not slumped in a heap on the ground as it once was. It
had been slain. But now it is standing — standing in the innermost circle next
to the throne.
Second, notice that the
Lamb has seven horns. A horn is a symbol of strength and power throughout the
book of Revelation (12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 12) as well as in the OT (Deuteronomy
33:17; Psalm 18:2; 112:7). And the number seven signifies fullness and
completeness.
So this is no ordinary Lamb. He is a Lion-like Lamb.
Look at Revelation 6:16
where men call to the mountains and rocks, "Fall
on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from
the wrath of the Lamb."
And look at Revelation 17:14
where the final enemies of God fight against Christ: "they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them,
for he is Lord of lords and King of kings."
In other words, he is a Lion-like Lamb.
Conclusion
So I conclude by stressing the main point: since Jesus is not
merely a simple thing like a lion or like a lamb, but is a Lion-like Lamb and a
Lamb-like Lion, therefore he is admirable and excellent and worthy to take the
scroll and open its seals and bring this world to an end for the glory of his
name and the good of his ransomed people.
And you can be among that number if you trust him as your Lamb, and submit to him as your Lion, and join the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and the millions of angels to worship the King of kings with all your heart
John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of
desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33
years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is author of more than 50
books, including Desiring God: Meditations
of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Providence.
https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/christ-the-lion-and-the-lamb
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