THE LAMB OF GOD
Have you ever thought about why the Lord Jesus was referred to as the Lamb of God? It was because HE was JEHOVAH GOD ALMIGHTY’S Sacrifice for all mankind’s sin.
Today’s text is found in Revelation 5:1-14 and we’ll read it shortly
There’s much that could be said to do with the depths of this chapter, but what we want to think on primarily is –the LAMB OF GOD—
The Lord Jesus is the key person in the history of the world. Hundreds of years before He was born into Planet Earth His coming had been foretold as having a great destiny.
Isaiah, (9:6). 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace
But perhaps the most precious name is that announced by John the Baptist when he caught sight of Jesus coming towards him at the River Jordan. He was inspired to cry out,
(John 1:29). “29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Names in the Scriptures often have a greater significance than nowadays. When we choose a name for a child nowadays it often will have a family connection, or maybe we might think it’s fashionable.
But in Bible times, names had a deeper and more personal meaning. They would often give a hint of a person’s character, his or her nature, capability and destiny. This is certainly the case in the names given to Jesus, and no more so than in the name, “The Lamb of God.”
To get the full meaning of the name we have to turn to the book of the Revelation. It’s an amazing, record of visions seen by the apostle John.
It’s a series of colorful pictures accompanied by sounds, voices and songs.
But I want us to think primarily on, “The Lamb.” It’s the title, which dominates Revelation. The book is a sequence of scenes moving towards the final triumph of “the Lamb” in spite of the forces of violence unleashed against Him and His followers.
Chapter 5 reveals the triumph of good over evil and what it means to God’s creation.
1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne (the Father)
a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?”
3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
5And one of the elders saith unto me, “Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David,[ The designation of Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Root of David directly relate Him to Israel] hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”
6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
[. Notice that the Lion is the Lamb (cf. Jn 1:29, 36). He will always bear the wounds of His suffering and death in His glorified, resurrected body. He overcame as a Lamb (cf. Isa 53:7
He now sits at the right hand of the Father (cf. Heb 1:3), but in that day He will stand.
A Lamb as it had been slain. He was slain but is alive now forever.
The seven horns point to His fullness of power (cf. Ps 89:17, 24); the seven eyes speak of complete wisdom (cf. Zech 4:10), a characteristic of the fullness of the HOLY SPIRIT, which was uniquely His.
Thus, the Lamb’s three qualifications are: (1) He was sacrificed for man’s sins; (2) He has all power to overcome every foe; and (3) He enjoys all wisdom and intelligence to foresee and oversee.
7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of HIM that sat upon the throne.
.8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
9And they sung a new song, saying,”Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth”
11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; [innumerable]12Saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” [Notice, we see the #7 different attributes of THE LORD JESUS]
13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power,[here we see the # 4-creation- pertaining to HIS power] be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” 14And the four beasts said, “Amen.” And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever.
The scene is set in heaven, the centerpiece being the sight of God on His throne. This is the control room of everything that has ever existed, the ultimate authority over all.
Around the throne are 24 elders to whom God has delegated authority and 4 living creatures signifying the life of His creation.
John was living in a world of injustice and cruelty. The misery would go on and on if there were no one to bring it to an end, to bring hope of release and rescue.
It was an awful prospect and it would be still the same nowadays because human nature hasn’t changed or improved over the years.
But there is hope! John was told, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.
He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” This is God’s plan, foreshadowed in the Old Testament, by which He promised to provide a means of redemption for a sinful world and so achieve the purpose of His creation.
Then. John was told by an elder that he needn’t fear, since there is One who has the right to open the seals of the scroll, and he looks to see who it is. He looks for a Lion but sees a lamb!
And what’s more it’s an image of a slain Lamb. He records the vision of the Lamb in detail, and every detail is full of significance.
· He gives: THE DESCRIPTION OF THE LAMB
“The Lion of the tribe of Judah” – this title goes back to the blessing that Jacob gave just before he died to his son Judah (Gen 49:9-10).
The second part of the title, “the Root of David” comes from Isaiah (11:1), when an ideal king would come from the bloodline of David and usher in an era of peace and rule the world in righteousness. This new era had arrived in the coming of the Messiah.
John naturally expects to see a commanding military figure, a victorious general, but imagine his shock when what he actually sees is “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain”. What a pitiful sight! The Son of God pictured as a newly killed lamb!
But there’s an even more curious thing about the sight of this Lamb. Although it’s been dragged through death, it is “standing”: it’s now alive and upright!
This imagery is impossible in natural life but remember this is a vision. It speaks volumes of Jesus as the Risen Lord.
The dramatic scene is located in heaven. in John’s vision the Lamb is the central figure on whom all attention is focused. He’s the key player in the course of history. He’s the one who could, and in fact has, put into effect God’s great plan of redemption.
The Lamb is unique in appearance. John writes, “He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth.”
Seven is the symbolic number for completeness, for perfection. The “seven horns” indicate His irresistible strength and the “seven eyes” His perfect knowledge. The energies of the Holy Spirit have now been released by the risen Christ to accomplish His work on earth.
The image of “the Lamb” spoke of the earthly Christ’s vulnerability in His first advent as a helpless baby, hounded by Herod, persecuted by wicked men, and finally meek and submissive to a sacrificial death.
But it’s coupled with the image of “the Lion”, symbol of Him at His Second Advent, all-powerful as the judge of the world.
He’s portrayed as having obtained victory through sacrifice. This Description of the Lamb is followed by John telling of:
THE IDENTITY OF THE LAMB
How can we be sure “the Lamb” refers to Jesus? We refer to the well known passages of the Old Testament where they speak of the Passover lamb, the lamb- of the burnt offering, the ram of the Day of Atonement, or the lamb of Isaiah 53. They are all anticipations, shadows and types of the nature and life’s work of the coming Messiah and how they dovetail completely with Jesus as “the Lamb of God”.
They all have this one thing in common: that atonement and deliverance come through offering the life of the sacrifice to God by the shedding of blood.
And that’s what Jesus did on the Cross. He who was slain at Calvary fulfils and supersedes all the Old Testament sacrifices. He is the ultimate sacrifice for sin, bringing complete atonement and freedom from sin.
The Jewish nation had fixed ideas as to the coming Messiah. They had misinterpreted the prophetic passages of the Old Testament to mean that the Messiah would be a great conqueror, freeing them from the shackles of the Roman occupation as “the Lion of Judah”.
The apostle John is told to see a Lion but actually sees a Lamb. But they are not two different creatures.
The Lion doesn’t eventually become a Lamb or vice versa. He’s not a Lion to some and a Lamb to others. “The Lion” is simply “the Lamb”.
When Jesus showed himself to His disciples in the upper room after His resurrection, He confirmed His identity to the doubting disciple Thomas by inviting him to inspect the wounds in hands and His pierced side.
There’s a song that has the words, “that the only man-made thing in heaven will be the wounds of His crucifixion on His body.”
That’s The Identity of the Lamb who came to earth to take away the sins of the world.
