Hello people, I write again, today I shall focus on the topic of Lamb of God and Lion of Judah, which is the title given to Jesus in John 1:29 & Revelation 5:5.
In case you are asking why was He called the Lamb of God and Lion of Judah, allow me to demonstrate the characteristic of these two animals, which you will find in NO OTHER animal.
The lamb was one of the first animals that the human beings began to raise as domestic animals. In the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we learn that Abel was a shepherd of sheep. Right up to the present day, the lamb is one of the most important animals to mankind providing milk, meat, wool and leather: food and clothing. Sheep are also known for producing offspring (bearing fruit) in abundance. In certain countries there are more sheep than people. In Australia, for example, there are roughly thirteen sheep for every person; in Argentina there are three times as many sheep as people. Even in America, in certain Western States such as Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Idaho, there are also more sheep than people.
This is what is written in the Bible of the tribe of Judah.
Genesis 49:8-12
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You hold your enemies by the neck.
Your brothers will bow down before you.
9 Judah is like a lion,
Killing his victim and returning to his den,
Stretching out and lying down.
No one dares disturb him.
10 Judah will hold the royal sceptre,
And his descendants will always rule.
Nations will bring him tribute
And bow in obedience before him.
11 He ties his young donkey to a grapevine,
To the very best of the vines.
He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.
12 His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine,
His teeth white from drinking milk.
The lion is social animal and as mentioned in Genesis 49:8, the lion kills prey much larger than itself by biting and clamping down the nostrils or the wind pipe in the neck. Lions often prey wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, and are sometimes known to take down hippopotamuses, giraffe and rhinos too, there are a few cases of lion preying adolescent elephants. It is the lioness that does most of the hunting on chosen prey, just the Church which is known as the bride and body of Christ, finds joy in people turning to the Salvation that is in Jesus, the people who were chosen by God to believe. The Lion is also known to kill other carnivores like leopards and cheetahs.
Jesus in person is Biblically known to have these dual characteristic. He is known to walk in obedience to His Father even to the point of death without saying a word like that of lamb (Isaiah 53:7) & Like a lion that kills other big cats He is also known to be the One who will destroy the nations deceived by that false prophet who by the power of Satan worked wonders and will gather nations against God’s people.
Isaiah 53:7
“He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said a word.
Revelation 19:11-21 (The vision of the Apostle John)
11 Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. 13 The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God”. 14 The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. 15 Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the winepress of the furious anger of the Almighty God. 16 On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords”.
17 Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair: “Come and gather together for God’s great feast! 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and soldiers, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all people, slave and free, great and small!”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army. 20 The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.
My friend to believe in Jesus, we are called to be like him (Matthew 10:24-25). As my Pastor puts it: The best way to stand up before the world is to kneel down before God, this like that of being a lamb and a lion. We will never possess the title of Jesus being born as children of disobedience. It is only after we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Saviour that the Spirit begins to work in us to obey Jesus sacrificially (1Peter 1:2), pleasing God (1Samuel 15:22).
Matthew 10:24-25
24 “No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. 25 So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master.
1Peter 1:2
You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure.
1Samuel 15:22
Samuel said, “Which does the Lord prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him.
Being like the Lamb of God means that you obey Jesus even if it means death (Rev 2:10). Here are a few obedience challenges for you from the Bible.
Matthew 5: (Jesus’ Word)
39 But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too.
40 And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well.
41 And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one kilometre, carry it two kilometres.
44 But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Mark 9:35 (about humility)
35 Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.”
Luke 6:34
And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount!
Mark 11:25
And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done.”
The above are a just a few among many, world religions do not practice these because for them their god is their own self esteem because whatever god they may believe in, one or many, what they do centers only around themselves. Being like the Lamb of God (Jesus) seems to the world that you become their doormat but this is where God comes in. People may show certain action which they feel would show to the world, how great is their belief for their god, they may fast, pray, physically inflict themselves. However at the slightest trace of injustice, they take matters into their own hands, taking up to violence as a solution. They do this because unconsciously they admit that their god whether one or many does not exist and so he cannot act for them.
Jesus teaches us to forgive; here are a few statements/quotes which you will only believe unless you have tried it.
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“You are never so strong as when you forgive.” – Kimberly Converse.
“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” – Catherine Ponder
We must know that it is in obeying God that we need to be bold and put our trust in God to see us through our situations. Humans by nature are bold & find loop holes in trying to do what is unjust, only when it is in favour of themselves. He/She will not think of adhering to values or culture or rules when they want to do wrong but when the time come act as per what Jesus teaches then all these (values or culture or rules) come into play, merely as obstacles, when the truth is doing what is right is never worth the risk according to them.
As I said earlier, it is in submitting to God that you stand up to world. This friend, is how we become like Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:36) and a lion that has overcome the world (John 16:33).
John 1:36
when he saw Jesus walking by. “There is the Lamb of God!” he said.
John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Making known the Defeated Dragon 