Jesus the Lion Lamb!
(Revelation 5:1-10)
1. A man named Sam is lying on his death bed and his wife is sat by the side of the bed holding his hand. He looks at her and in a weak voice said:
"Mary! Do you remember 60 years ago when we got married? I'd just started that business venture that went bust and we lost all our money and became destitute. You didn't leave me did you...you were there with me through it all".
Mary replied, "That's because I loved you".
Sam continued, "...and you remember a few years later, when we started another business and my partner ran off with all the money and left us with nothing? You were there then too weren't you"?
Mary replied, "I stayed because I loved you".
Sam continued, ".......and do you remember that after I clawed my way back to the top, we had a nice house, but that fire destroyed everything. I'd forgotten to pay the insurance payment and we lost everything again? You were there through it all weren't you Mary"?
Mary replied, "I forgave you everything because I loved you so much".
Sam continued, "........but I came back didn't I Mary? We became rich again...until I got caught for tax evasion and spent 5 years in jail...you were there then too, weren't you"?
Mary replied, ".......because I loved you"!
Sam began to cry as he looked into his wife’s eyes. “You know what, Mary? You’re a jinx!”
2. While most of us are surprised at the husband’s response, it goes to show you that the same facts can be interpreted in different ways.
3. The same think happened with Jesus; He loving gave Himself for us all, but many consider him one of many religious leaders, or a fraud, or a failed zealot.
4. Palm Sunday, the week before Jesus' resurrection, was an exciting day.
What, exactly, happened on Palm Sunday?
5. Most of Jesus followers were from the rural north, Galilee. They were joined by a large contingency from the Jerusalem suburb of Bethany, where Jesus had just recently resurrected Lazarus from the dead. So many came to believe in Jesus through the resurrection of Lazarus, that the Jewish leaders discussed plans to kill Lazarus, too, according to John 12:10. This was the Palm Sunday crowd in contrast to the Good Friday crowd.
Main Idea: Jesus Christ is represented in the Book of Revelation by two animals, animals that are, in a sense, opposites: one gentle, one bold and vicious.
I. The Worthy LION (1-5)
(show photo of angel)
What is this scroll? The scroll of God’s end time judgments upon the earth.
Daniel 12:4, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
A. Jesus ALONE is worthy.
B. He is the Lion of the tribe of JUDAH. (show photo of 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?
“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.” Genesis 49:9-10
This title, “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” speaks Jesus reigning/millennium
C. He is the ROOT of David.
Isaiah 11:10, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.”
D. He has TRIUMPHED.
1. Over the curse/death
2. Over His enemies/ the devil
It is this “lion” that is described in Psalm 2:7-12, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
“You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.’
“Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
“Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
On Palm Sunday, Jesus was still taking the part of the Lamb, not yet the Lion.
II. The Worthy Lion is a LAMB (6-7).
(show photo of lamb)
A. Who had been SLAIN
B. He has great POWER
C. He sees ALL
D. He takes the SCROLL
Scrolls were typically 15 feet long (average) and it was undesirable to write on both sides…Seals indicated privacy or a violation of privacy… In this scroll, as each seal is broken, events emerge from the scroll as though packed and condensed…
What is holding up the rapture and the Tribulation? It is Jesus’ request to ask the Father for the nations in Psalm 2, his not having yet taken up the scroll and opening its seals.
III. The Worthy Lion Who is A Lamb is Worthy of WORSHIP (8-10).
(show photo "composite")
A. Each had a HARP
From Reader's Digest: My friend Agnes is an accomplished harpist who frequently plays for weddings, receptions, parties and other such events. She is also blond and has an appropriately cherubic face. She was on her way to an engagement at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, and stepped into an elevator with her large golden harp. Just before the doors closed, a distinguished gray-haired man stepped on. As the elevator rose, he looked thoughtfully first at her and then her harp and asked, "And just how far up are you going?" (Reader’s Digest, Margaret B. Ellis, Mobile, Ala.)
• Who were the 24 elders?
B. Each had a bowl of INCENSE.
1. Psalms 141:2, "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice."
2. In modern church talk, worship means music and prayer means prayer; but in the Bible, prayer is one of the most crucial acts of worship…
3. Many of us only know how to bring requests to God; we do not know how to pray -- and to pray so as to worship God.
C. They glorified the Lamb for His BLOOD purchase.
1. Only God is to be worshiped, thus the Lamb is God
2. Prayer is an act of worship, thus it is wrong to pray to anyone other than God; only God is omnipresent, can read our minds, knows heart.
D. They worshiped the Lamb for how He EXALTED His people
1. A kingdom (spiritual)
2. A priesthood (each of us)
• The Jews speak of nine hundred and six thousand millions of ministering angels, that stand constantly before the Lord F13 Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 69. 1.
Conclusion
The Lion is a Lamb. If we come to know Him as the Lamb, we don’t have to fear Him as the Lion. If we do not know Him as the Lamb, He will be more fearsome than the wildest of lions.
