JESUS CHRIST: THE LION AND THE LAMB

JESUS CHRIST, THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AND ROOT OF DAVID

Can Jesus Christ be described as both the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and also as a Lamb of God? The two are extremes of character, the lion who is king of the animal kingdom and the lamb who is a docile animal. They exist as a paradox, that of great strength and majesty and, at the same time, that of quiet gentleness, kindness, and caring.

They are prophetic mysteries. Jesus came to earth like a lamb to show God's gentleness and kindness and will return as a lion with the majesty of a king to rule and judge His people. The book of Isaiah describes two incidents in Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25 when describing the lion and the lamb. Jesus came from the line of kings in the Old Testament which Matthew 1:1 traced the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. God made a covenant with Abraham that he would be blessed because of his faith and that his descendants would likewise be blessed if they continue to keep the covenant which Abraham made with God.

The only two verses of the lion and the lamb appeared together in Isaiah 11:6 and Isaiah 65:25. Chapter 11 of Isaiah described the peaceable kingdom of the Branch out of the root of Jesse, the father of David and descendant from the tribe of Judah. Israel would be restored and the call was made to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 11:6

"The world also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

Isaiah 66:25

"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

In the Old Testament, God ruled supreme in the world as king and judge. You can see how like the lion rules in the jungle. All creatures are afraid of him and obey the lion in his habitat.

Isaiah prophesied that the powerful and almighty lion shall be turned into a lamb to reach out to the Gentiles. Jesus was the LAMB OF GOD. He was perfection personified obeying only the will of God in all matters. God chose Jesus to be the perfect sacrificial LAMB to die and atone for the sins of the world so we would get redemption. His will was to obey God's will.

Jesus said in John 5:30, "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

Jacob, the twin son of Isaac was chosen to be the father of Judah, the father of the Jews. Why was Judah, the fourth son of Jacob (renamed Israel) chosen to be the line Jesus Christ descended from? Judah or Yehudah in Hebrew means "praise". Leah, the first wife of Jacob had already given birth to three sons and she conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son, she said, "Now will I praise the Lord: and therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing" (Genesis 29:35). With the birth of Judah, Leah finally disowned the idolatry of her father, Laban. She finally acknowledged YAHWEH, the God of Israel. And Judah was blessed by God.

On his deathbed Jacob blessed Judah (Genesis 49:8). Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee" (Genesis 49:8). Yehudim means "Jews", and Jew by definition is "Messianic". It is written in Revelation 5:5:

"And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

Wikepedia

LION OF JUDAH AND JUDAISM Within Judaism, the Biblical Judah (in Hebrew: Yehuda) is the original name of the Tribe of Judah - traditionally symbolized by a lion. In Genesis, the patriarch Jacob ("Israel") refers to his son Judah as a Gur Aryeh גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְהוּדָה , a "Young Lion" (Genesis 49:9) when blessing him. In Jewish naming tradition the Hebrew name and the substitute name are often combined as a pair, as in this case.

Lion of Judah in Christianity

In Christian tradition, the Lion of Judah represents Jesus. Many Christian organizations and ministries use the lion of Judah as their emblem or even their name. The phrase appears in the New Testament Book of Revelation 5:5; "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36. It is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. To understand who Christ was and what He did, we must go back to the Old Testament, which concerned the coming of Christ as a “guilt offering” (Isaiah 53:10). God established the whole sacrificial system in the Old Testament setting the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ.. God would provide Jesus as the perfect atonement for the sins of His people (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10).

The sacrifice of lambs played a very important role in the Jewish religious life. In the Old Testament, the sins of the people should be atoned for by sacrificing a lamb. Without the shedding of blood, the sins would remain. John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Passover feast was one of the main Jewish holidays and a celebration in remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The slaying of the Passover lamb and the applying of the blood to doorposts of the houses (Exodus 12:11-13) is a reminder of Christ’s atoning work on the cross protecting the followers from the angel of death.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that our sin separates us from God. The Bible teaches we are all sinners and none of us is righteous before God (Romans 3:23). Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and we stand guilty before Him. Our only hope is if God provides a way for us to be reconciled to Himself, and that is what God did in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Jesus Christ died to make atonement for sin and to pay the penalty of the sins of all who believe in Him.

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).

The fact that God Himself has provided the offering that atones for our sin is the glorious good news of the gospel that is declared in 1 Peter 1:18-21. "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."

Jesus showed us in the New Testament how He was a lamb of God by absolutely refusing to fight back resisting evil. When Simon Peter drew a sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus said unto Peter, "Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).

The other characteristic is Jesus' utter dependence upon the will of God (John 4:34)."My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

Jesus is the perfect lion with the kingly characteristics in the Old Testament and also the consumate lamb, gentle, meek and mild obeying the Shepherd till the very end.

"Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (Eph. 6:6).

"And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" ( 1 Jn. 2:17).

"Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevetheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Lk. 22:42).

How should we understand the Lion and the Lamb passage?

www.gotquestions.org/Lion-and-the-Lamb.htmlThe true “Lion and the Lamb” passage is Revelation 5:5–6. The Lion and the Lamb both refer to Jesus Christ. He is both the conquering Lion of the tribe of ...

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