Have you ever been face to face with a lion? I have. At the zoo. The zoo in Green Bay, WI has two big lions. One day when we visited, the big daddy lion was lying right next to the glass. Huge. Powerful. We stood right next to him. But that’s not what I remember from that day. After we left the zoo, we went walking on some trails nearby. That’s when we heard it: The lion roar. Have you heard a lion roar? Standing in the woods, it sent shivers down my back. I would never want to meet a lion face to face. The power. The strength. The fear in your heart… People in the Bible understood that. Because there were actually lions. There were wild lions who ate people.
So it’s striking that Jacob said that one of his sons would be a lion. Remember how many sons Jacob had? Twelve. When Jacob was an old man, he blessed each one of his twelve sons, and he pointed out which son would be the ruler of the others (Genesis 49). His choice was surprising. Was it the first-born son? No. That was Reuben. Was it Jacob’s favorite son? No. That was Joseph. Jacob actually said that his fourth son—Judah—would be like a lion. A ruler. Why Judah? For the same reason God blesses us: By grace. Judah isn’t a very nice person in the Bible. He didn’t deserve it. But old Jacob, leaning on his staff, said that Judah would be like a lion.
But Jacob wasn’t actually talking about Judah himself. It was a prophecy. Someone from Judah’s family was going to rule all nations. Who was it? Jesus! When you jump from Genesis—the first book in the Bible—to Revelation—the last book in the Bible, you see the connection: “See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed” (Revelation 5:5). Jesus is the “Lion of Judah.” Think about that: As powerful, as fearful, as strong as a lion, that’s Jesus. Is that how people talk about Jesus at Christmastime? We have a Christmas CD with a song called “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” It’s a really sweet song. It makes Jesus sound like a cute little baby. He’s so small and helpless. “Don’t worry, Jesus, we going to take good care of you.” Is that true?
No way! It’s Jesus who takes care of us. He’s a Lion! An old preacher named Charles Spurgeon liked to ask, “How do you defend a lion?” Do you know the answer? “Let him out of his cage.” What’s the point? You don’t defend a lion. The lion defends himself better than anyone else could. This is the Bible’s picture of Jesus: A conquering Lion who fought and won against sin, death, and the devil. Who crushed Satan’s head. Who will return on the Last Day and destroy all sin and evil. Do you need someone to fight for you? To protect you? Jesus is the Lion of Judah!
Got it? It’s just that the more I think about that, it makes me uneasy. Know why? If Jesus is a powerful Lion who crushes all sin and everything evil, whom does he also need to crush? Me! You. Right? If Jesus is a fierce Lion who can’t stand sin, then he can’t stand me. He can’t stand you. You have a Lion against you: God himself. Isn’t that scary? I think this is why our world loves Christmas. Keep Jesus in the manger! Would you agree? “Let’s think about God as a helpless little Baby. That’s fine. We can handle that. But let’s not think about God as he actually is. A Lion. A Ruler. A King. Who is going to judge the living and the dead.” The more you think about it, it’s terrifying. Jesus is a Lion. He should hunt us down. He should crush us for our sins.
But there’s something really strange in the Bible. The book of Revelation calls Jesus the “Lion of Judah.” And then it describes what Jesus looks like. Here’s what John writes: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne” (Revelation 5:6). Isn’t that strange? Jesus, “the Lion of Judah,” looks like a “Lamb that had been slain.” How does that make any sense? You couldn’t pick two animals that are more opposite that a lion and a lamb. But that’s what Jesus is. A Lion and a Lamb. A Lamb that has been slain. Because that powerful Lion who rules everything also loves you so much that he died for you. A Lion and a Lamb.
This is so important. There are a lot of Christian churches today who emphasize Jesus’ power and might. The Lion! “Jesus is going to punish sin. You better repent!” They’re sometimes called conservative churches. They stand up for what’s right and wrong. “Watch out! The Lion is coming!” At the same time, there are a lot of Christian churches today who emphasize Jesus’ love and gentleness. They are sometimes called liberal churches. “Don’t worry about sin. Just focus on God’s grace. Jesus is like a Lamb.” So which is it? Which side is telling the truth?
Neither. Neither side gets it. Because Jesus is both. He is a Lion as fierce as the one we met at the zoo. So your sinful nature needs to be afraid of God. If you enjoy sinning, if your heart isn’t right with God, you better be afraid. Because you don’t stand a chance against a Lion. Let the roar of his Word wake you up from the apathy and sin in your lives! And when you realize that, when the roar of the Lion of Judah leads you to repent, then know this: Jesus is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He’s both. He’s the Lion and the Lamb.
How does that make sense? Only at the cross of Jesus. At the cross of Jesus, we see God’s righteous anger against sin. We see the punishment that all sin deserves. But then we see whom God punished: His own Son. Himself. Jesus took all your sins on him, so that by his suffering and death, you could be forgiven and healed and saved. Isn’t that whom we need? A Savior strong enough to defeat every enemy—including sin, death, and the devil. A Savior gentle enough to not destroy us along the way. You only find that at the cross of Jesus. Power and grace. Justice and mercy. Punishment and forgiveness. Law and gospel. A Lion and a Lamb.
All that was packaged up in a little baby Boy. That’s amazing! God became one of us. In that little body is the power to calm storms. The power to raise the dead. The power to rule over the whole universe. For you. For me. Your life’s not out of control. The scepter does not depart from the Lion of Judah. But remember what that little body was going to do: Give himself for you. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, including ours. Jesus rules all. Jesus loves all. Jesus loves you. The Lion of Judah. The Lamb of God. What Child is this? Our Savior.
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. Revelation 5:5.
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