As you read the Bible you discover that Jesus is
referred to by many names. He is called the Good Shepherd. He is called
the Vine. He is called the Alpha and the Omega. These images are rich in
meaning and history and they are given to us to help us understand the
person and role of Jesus Christ. Many of these images are peppered
through the songs we sing and it is helpful to understand them and know
their meaning. One of the images, even a title that I would like us to
examine this morning is "Lamb of God". And I want to address the
question - what does it mean to call Jesus the Lamb of God?
Now of all the books of the Bible, the book of
Revelation uses this title the most in reference to Jesus Christ.
We begin our study at Revelation 5:1-14:
"Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on
the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed£ with
seven seals; and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 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 bitterly because no one was found
worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. Then one of the elders
said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven
seals.” Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and
among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out
into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of
the one who was seated on the throne. When he had taken the scroll, the
four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb,
each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the
prayers of the saints. They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the
scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood
you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and
nation; you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God,
and they will reign on earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of
many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the
elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to
receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under
the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one
seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and
might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And
the elders fell down and worshipped. (Revelation 5:1-14) (NRSV)
Here we are given front row seats to one of the
greatest worship experiences ever. This worship experience starts small
enough with the saints beginning with a new song. But soon they are
joined by thousands upon thousands of angels all singing and if that is
not enough the whole of creation join in the refrain for one grand
climatic "Amen" at the end of it all.
But all of this is not what makes us catch our breath.
This whole wonderful act of worship is not what earns our awe. It is,
rather, the one who is being worshipped. It is this figure who has every
creature's attention, and every creature's applause. There standing in
the midst of them is a lamb. And it is to this lamb that all of worship
points; it is this lamb alone who is worthy to receive honour, glory and
praise. Indeed, at the beginning of the chapter we witness a
mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to take this
scroll from the one who sits on the throne and open its seals?"
The scroll here is the title deed of earth. Whoever
possesses the scroll rules the world. This idea is not new to us - we
see it all the time in spy movies. Whoever possess a microchip rules the
world. Whoever controls the laser rules the world. Whatever it is -
whether it is a powerful weapon or a piece of information - the power of
the world is at stake. Well that's what is happening here - only this is
no spy movie, this is real. Whoever possesses the scroll, the title deed
of the earth has controlling power over the world.
But you will notice that there is a provision - It
isn't just any old Mary, or Fred or Joe who can take the scroll, you
have to be worthy. That's what the angel asks, "Who is worthy to
break the seals and open the scroll?" Notice he doesn't say, "Who is
willing?" No, willingness is not the question. There have been many
throughout history that have been willing. Alexander the Great,
Napoleon, Hitler - Satan himself has always been willing and wanting to
rule the world since the beginning of time. And any of them would have
succeeded if willingness were the only necessary criterion. But it's not
who is willing, it is "who is worthy?" And the proclamation goes out
into all of heaven, all of earth and even under the earth. But no one is
worthy, not one.
And John, who is witnessing all of this and recording
it for us, weeps. He begins to weep as he realizes the state of the
world. No one is worthy to take the scroll and so rule and reign.
But look! As John stands there with salt tears running
down his aged cheeks, one of the elders calls him to look and says, "The
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is able
to open the scroll and it's seven seals." And John wipes his tears in
order to see clearly, fully expecting to see a mighty lion.
This would have brought great peace to the old man's
Jewish heart for this is the kind of Messiah the people of God had
always wanted and expected. A great lion of a man - powerful, mighty,
muscles abounding; fierce and dreadful like a lion. But instead he sees
a lamb - tender, gentle, kind and loving. Accessible to the weakest and
the poorest, the lowest.
Now understand that the book of Revelation is filled
with word pictures. There are many reasons for this but one of the
reasons is to help us understand what otherwise is so fantastic and so
otherworldly that we would not even begin to grasp what is happening.
The word pictures point us to something greater, something other.
So obviously this is no ordinary little lamb. This
lamb has seven horns - the horn being a symbol of power. The lamb has
seven eyes being the symbol of knowledge. So this lamb is all-powerful
and all knowing. Do you see that the lion is in the lamb?
And so the lamb steps forward to take up the scroll
and no one questions his right to do so. And as the lamb steps into the
spotlight John, who does not see him at first in the midst of the elders
now cannot take his eyes off of Him. He mentions Him again and again. He
is at the center of the worship.
Now you will notice that the lamb in our passage is
referred to as one who has been slain. In verse 6 and verse 9 we read,
"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you
were slain." Jesus is worthy to rule; He is worthy of worship because He
was crucified.
Now this is a little strange isn't it? Jesus Christ is
the lamb, and the text says that He is worthy to take the title deed of
the world because He was murdered. So what was the nature of His death
that enables Jesus to take the deed? Well first, his crucifixion was
sacrificial. We know from Exodus 29 that every morning and every evening
a lamb was sacrificed in the Temple for the sins of the people.
But now Jesus Christ has come as a type of lamb and
has offered His life on our behalf so that we can be delivered from sin.
Before Christ died on the cross, every smoking altar on which a bird or
a lamb lay in sacrifice pointed to the coming of that great sacrifice
when Christ once and for all put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Not only was His death sacrificial, it was also on our
behalf. In Hebrews 9 we read that "the law requires that nearly
everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood
there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)
The forgiveness of God is that cut and dried. The
means by which God forgives sin is the shedding of blood. Anything else
or anything less than that doesn't cut it. We can groan, we can moan, we
can promise to turn over a new leaf but none of that removes sin from
us. Sin is a capital offense and it carries the death penalty. The sin
for which the penalty is death has been placed upon the shoulders of the
lamb - He is our sacrificial lamb who dies the death that was
continually hanging over our heads.
So in this one act of sacrifice we are given freedom.
In verse 9 we read "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its
seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for
God from every tribe and language and people and nation. "
According to the Bible we are all slaves to sin. By
ourselves we cannot escape from this slavery. But Jesus has freed us. He
has done it by paying the price of our freedom with His blood.
Again it is the Old Testament that helps us understand
this concept. In the book of Exodus, chapter 12 we read that the night
when the Israelites left Egypt. That night when their slavery ended, the
Angel of Death walked through all of Egypt and struck down the
first-born of the Egyptians. The Israelites were to smear their
doorposts with the blood of a slain lamb and the angel would see that
blood and pass over that house. It was the blood of the lamb that
delivered them from destruction.
And so with the crucifixion of Christ the lamb.
Through belief in the sacrificial nature of His death we are lead into a
new exodus, out of slavery to sin to freedom and life with God.
But there is also this. Not only is the lamb slain;
the lamb is alive. Verse 6 says that the lamb is standing. The reason He
stands is that He is alive. He who once died is now alive forevermore.
That is why Jesus Christ is worthy to take the title
deed of world. That is why He is worthy to be worshipped. A dead Christ
may be worthy of a poem of praise, maybe a song of admiration, maybe a
statue commemorating his martyr-like death. But a risen Christ is worthy
of power, and honour and glory and worship.
He who has displayed power is worthy to receive it. He
who has exercised wisdom and strength is worthy to be worshipped. If He
were a dead Christ what would be the use? It would be no use for me to
spend my life worshipping and serving a dead Christ. But a risen, ever
living Christ - there is one who is worthy of worship.
His rising from the dead seals all of Scripture's
claims about Jesus. Jesus Christ is called sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21;
Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19) We know death to be the result of sin. But
when death got a hold of Jesus Christ he discovered that Jesus was
sinless, so death could not hold Him.
His resurrection proves His deity. Only God has power
to give life and take it. Because He rose from the dead we believe that
Jesus Christ is God.
The resurrection verifies His claims, but it also
vitalizes the Christian. Jesus Christ is alive. With the risen Jesus at
their side the early disciples felt equal to any sacrifice and
suffering. I can do all things, said Paul through Christ who strengthens
me.
With the risen Christ at our side we too feel we can
do anything and bear anything and face anything. With Jesus at our side
there is no reason to fear, even though the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea. With Jesus at our side we feel
we can meet any trouble, fight temptation and endure loss. Holding on to
Jesus' hand we feel we can even venture into the valley of the shadow.
Is there any chance of losing Him? Can anything, can death steal His
presence away from us? No never. "Behold I am with you always even to
the very ends of the age. I am the first and the last I am the living
one; I was dead and behold I am alive forever more."
Czechoslovakia could have been called the jewel in the
communist crown. To be sure it was small, but it was probably the only
country that enjoyed any kind of economic success under Communist Russia
rule. Because of that it was the showplace of communism. And because of
that the leaders would try to "out-communist" the others. And because of
that the church there suffered greatly.
The government leaders vowed that with one generation
the church would be gone. And they had this idea that if they could
force the church inside it would go away. They wouldn't allow the church
to have any word in the press. They wouldn't allow the church to be in
public; you could not even have a sign out in front of your church
indicating that it was a church. If the church building had a bell in
the steeple it could not be rung. It was as if the church was not there.
But the old rulers of Communist Russia now know what
the people of God have always known. You cannot keep God down. You've
heard how in November 1989 the people of Prague changed the course of
modern history and ousted the communist government, not with guns of
anger but with candles of faith. And you know how they decided that
November 27, 1989 that every Czechoslovakian would walk out of their
office, their factory, their school, their house, everyone at 12 noon
would walk out into the open and stand.
They decided that at 12 noon every church bell that
had been silent would be rung. And it happened. Think of that. Bells
that had been silent for forty years. And that afternoon the story is
told that a little Methodist Church in Prague put out the first sign
they ever had - it was a homemade sign. And they put it up that
afternoon. Do you know what the sign said?
It said, "The Lamb wins!" Not the bear, not the tiger,
not the dragon, the lamb wins.
Let me ask you, has the lamb won out in your life? The
sacrifice has been offered on your behalf. The victory has been won. He
now has in His hands the title deed for world.
Has He got the title deed of your life? He is worthy.
He only waits for you to make a decision for Him. Will you worship Him?
Will you say, "I give my life to you, O Lamb of God, because you are
worthy of it?"
Is there someone here today who has been waiting for
the Lion of God - someone to pick up the broken pieces of your life,
someone to heal and mend the heart torn apart by sin - the lion of God
has come in the lamb. Come and make your decision for Him today. You
have waited too long already, and he is calling you today.
All you need to say to Him is "Dear Saviour and Lord I
surrender my life to you. . I trust that Your death on the cross was for
me and instead of me. I ask You to forgive my sin and cleanse my soul.
Come and live in me and take the title deed of my life."
If you will confess Christ in this way you can go from
this place assured in your heart that you have victory for this life and
for the life to come.
