The Conquering Lion, The Slain Lamb
Strength without humility is dangerous. It creates villains and tyrants, dictators and bullies. Power that is unalloyed with gentleness and consideration is a recipe for disaster. It is not real strength.
Humility without strength is just weakness. If a man claims humility, yet is unwilling to exercise courage, fortitude, or resist evil, we all recognize that his “humility” is not real humility after all.
But strength and humility? When the king has the power to wage war, yet chooses to resolve the conflict peacefully? When the father can shout over his children, but chooses to speak calmly instead? When the boss doesn’t insist on his own way but chooses to listen to the young hire? That is real strength and real humility.
In the Bible we see the strength and humility revealed most clearly in God Himself. Consider Isaiah:
Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young.
- Isa 40:10-11
God is mighty without losing His tender concern for His people. And He is gentle, without dispensing with His mighty right arm. And doesn’t this sound like a description of Jesus? There are many instances in the gospels we could turn to that exhibit the strength and tenderness of Christ. My favorite example in the gospels comes from the account of His arrest in John’s gospel. When the band of guards led by Judas approach and say they are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus replies “I am he,” but the phrase Jesus uses is literally “I AM,” God’s divine name given to Moses. Here is what John tells us: “When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground,” (John 18:6). At the sound of Jesus’ true identity being revealed, they cannot even stand. Jesus, obviously, is in total control here. Yet, He surrenders Himself to them without a fight. But I think my favorite example of Jesus’ strength and humility in the entire Bible comes not in one of the gospels, but in the book that captivates our imagination and curiosity, if at times our befuddlement, so well: the book of Revelation.
There, among the seemingly bizarre symbols and pictures typical of John’s apocalypse, we find a picture of Jesus in strength and in humility, simultaneously.
Strength
1 Then 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. (Rev 5:1)
What is this scroll? This, as the rest of the book of Revelation will show you, is the judgment of God on the world. The very breaking of the seals on the scroll unleash cataclysms and destruction in the next chapter—and that is only the preamble to what is to come.
2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” (Rev 5:2)
If you were undergoing brain surgery and then, shortly before they put you to sleep, you saw me approaching you with a scalpel, you would be alarmed. You would want to know: Marc, are you qualified to do this? The responsibility and consequence of brain surgery is very high, so you want someone who is worthy wielding that kind of power. The import and consequence of the judgment of God is incalculable. Therefore, he opens the scroll must be worthy of it.
“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 began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” (Rev 5:3-4).
No angel in heaven, no man on earth, no demon below is worthy to open the scroll—so John begins to weep loudly. Why is he crying? He is crying because John longs to see injustice come to an end, longs to see God’s people no longer be persecuted and martyred, longs to see God restore this world to what it should be. John is writing Revelation from Patmos, an island he has been exiled to by the oppressive Roman government. He is the last disciple remaining—all others have been brutally killed. John yearns for God to finally set things right.
“And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Rev 5:5)
You can hear the power in the titles given to this conqueror: He is a descendant of David—the giant-slayer, champion of all of Israel’s champions. He is a lion—the apex predator, king of the jungle. So menacing and terrifying is the image of a lion, that Peter actually uses it for an image of Satan (1 Pet 5:8). Lions are not tame, they are not cute—they are powerful, mighty, deadly. Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, was prophesied to be a lion.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
- Gen 49:9-10
When C.S. Lewis wanted to write an allegory of the Christian life in a magical world of talking animals, you see why he chooses for the Christ-figure, Aslan, to be a lion. In the Narnian tales, Aslan is immense, noble, grave, mountain-like—He is not safe, but He is good. And wherever Aslan stands, evil flinches in terror. And here, the lion of Judah has conquered and it is his victory that qualifies, makes Him worthy to open the scroll. Jesus Christ, from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, has conquered. What has Christ conquered? All of our greatest enemies—sin, Satan, Hell, death. He has vanquished them all with His mighty right arm. Jesus possesses real strength.
Humility
But, at this point, Revelation takes a strange turn. John hears from one of the elders in heaven of the Lion, but then he turns, and what he sees is quite different:
“And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain,” (Rev 5:6a).
In the place of a victorious lion we see a defeated lamb, a slaughtered lamb. Lambs are what lions would eat. What is happening? This same confusion is what fills the hearts of the two Pevensie girls, Lucy and Susan, as they watch Aslan approach His mortal enemy, the White Witch. Edmund Pevensie, the girls’ brother, had betrayed his family and sworn an allegiance to the wicked witch, only to later repent and join Aslan. But for his betrayal, the ancient magic of Narnia decrees that Edmund deserves death. But, in his stead, Aslan surrenders himself to be slain. And Lewis’ description of Aslan’s approach to the Witch’s camp of evil creatures captures the scene too well to be improved upon:
“The fool!” [The Witch] cried. “The fool has come. Bind him fast.” Lucy and Susan held their breaths waiting for Aslan’s roar and his spring upon his enemies. But it never came. Four Hags, grinning and leering, yet also (at first) hanging back and half afraid of what they had to do, had approached him. “Bind him, I say!” repeated the White Witch. The Hags made a dart at him and shrieked with triumph when they found that he made no resistance at all. Then others – evil dwarfs and apes – rushed in to help them, and between them they rolled the huge Lion over on his back and tied all his four paws together, shouting and cheering as if they had done something brave, though, had the Lion chosen, one of those paws could have been the death of them all. But he made no noise, even when the enemies, straining and tugging, pulled the cords so tight that they cut into his flesh… “Muzzle him!” said the Witch. And even now, as they worked about his face putting on the muzzle, one bite from his jaws would have cost two or three of them their hands. But he never moved. And this seemed to enrage all that rabble. Everyone was at him now. Those who had been afraid to come near him even after he was bound began to find their courage, and for a few minutes the two girls could not even see him – so thickly was he surrounded by the whole crowd of creatures kicking him, hitting him, spitting on him, jeering at him.
At last [the Witch] drew near…Her face was working and twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad. Then, just before she gave the blow, she stooped down and said in a quivering voice, “And now, who has won? Fool…in that knowledge, despair and die.”” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
Adolf Hitler, personally despised Christianity, but was aware of its political power to animate the nation. Hitler praised Jesus’ strength displayed in opposing the Jews. But, Jesus, tragically, was bested by them in his death. Ironically, many progressive secular people today follow a similar line of reasoning, just from a different angle. Jesus was a wonderful teacher of love and peace, whose life was tragically cut short by the oppressive authorities. In both interpretations, Jesus’ death interrupts His mission. This is also the perspective of the Witch, the Satan figure of Narnia. If the Lion is slain, he loses.
But in Revelation, we see something else. The Lion who has conquered is worthy to open the scroll, yet it is not a victorious Lion that John sees take the scroll, but a slain Lamb.
“And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,” (Rev 5:7-8a).
“And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,” (Rev 5:9).
Did you catch that? In John’s vision of heaven, Jesus’ death is not a tragic end to what was otherwise a promising life. Jesus wasn’t about to accomplish something wonderful, and had it snatched out from Him by dying. His death is part of his exaltation. In heaven, where everything is put right, in the resurrection when our bodies are restored, Jesus still bears His wounds, He is still a slain Lamb, still bears the nail-scars. Why? Because those wounds are not blemishes to hide, but the marks of victory, trophies of grace.
Earlier, John was told that the Lion had “conquered, so that he can open the scroll.” Here, we see what the lion-like conquering was: Worthy are you to take the scroll…for you were slain. The conquering Lion is the slain Lamb, and the Lion conquers by being slain like a Lamb. Jesus defeats sin, by being defeated Himself; He slays Satan, by being slain; He conquers death, by being conquered by death. The dragon of death swallows Jesus whole, and three days later, Jesus erupts out of its chest, victorious.
And this is what qualifies Him and Him alone to take the scroll. Worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God.
What qualifies Jesus to dispense God’s judgment, God’s wrath? He himself experienced judgment, He experienced wrath. Jesus Christ at the cross took all of the judgment that the scroll and its seven seals contained, and swallowed it Himself. The King of Narnia went to the Stone Table to die in the place of a traitor, so that a traitor could one day become a King of Narnia. He took our place, took our death. This is why it is a ransom. He pays a price that we may go free, He pays in blood. His life. He is wounded, so we can be healed.
And this is what qualifies Him to open the scroll. There will be a judgment day, and Jesus, the Lamb, will bring it. But the hands that break the seals on God’s judgment are nail-scarred hands. Meaning—you do not have to experience that judgment, because Jesus already did. Turn to Him now in faith, fling yourself at Him for mercy and there you will find the immediate, unqualified, no holds-barred, complete forgiveness. Then you can join with the ten thousand times ten thousand in heaven who have finally found a Person worthy of the deepest cravings of the heart to delight in something praise-worthy:
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:11-12)
If there is anyone who deserves a crown, an award, acclaim, titles, dignity, applause, commendation, loyalty, respect, obedience, and love, it is this Lion and Lamb who conquers by being slain for us.
