We know Him As Lamb, But What About Lion?
When Jacob was born a friend asked me who Jacob was in the Bible, so in a shortened way i shared a review of Jacob's life. When i got to the wrestle with God and shared my conviction that this was pre-incarnate Jesus my friend broke in and declared that i was misunderstanding the Bible and that Jesus was a good lad, was loving and would never hurt someone.
I then shared from John 2 where Jesus made a whip and drove people from the temple. And from Revelation 19:11-16 where He is described in graphic detail as one who judges and makes war. I think my friend's understanding and overall picture of who Jesus is was slightly changed that day.
Jesus is loving, that's the very motive that drove Him to die on our behalf, taking the punishment for our sins. But He is also just and holy, and this is why He must punish sin and cast sinners from His presence. We see this casting away right throughout the Bible as Adam & Eve are cast from the garden, Israel cast from the land... all pointing to a future judgement when those who know, love & trust Christ as saviour & lord are brought into His presence forever and those who reject Him will be themselves rejected and cast away from anything good and pleasant where they will be punished by Him. One of the astonishing things is that it is Jesus who holds the keys of hell (Rev 1:18) and it is He who will judge all men (John 5:22).
Is He Our Lion or Lamb?
On the day of judgement will He come to us as a lion, fierce and angry, ready to judge. Or will He be our lamb, sacrificed on our behalf so that our name is written in the book of His life (Rev 20:15).
