One of many causes that we love Jesus is his paradoxes.
In Jesus specifically, we see realities come collectively that our human instincts don’t count on to be collectively, after which we see, with shock and delight, that they do certainly match collectively, opposite to our assumptions — and it makes our souls soar with pleasure.
The gorgeous paradoxes of Christ expose our false and weak and small expectations. They remind us that we didn’t design this world. We don’t run this world. And we didn’t design God’s rescue of us. And we can’t save ourselves, however God can — and does, within the Phrase made flesh.
As Christians, we confess that Jesus is Lord. That’s, he’s totally God. He’s the towering, all-knowing, all-wise, omnipotent God. As God, he fashioned and made all issues, and each knee will bow, and each tongue confess, that Jesus is Yahweh — the sacred old-covenant title of God revealed in Exodus. Jesus is creator, sustainer, supreme Lord of heaven and earth, almighty in energy, infinite in majesty, our Lord and our God.
And we confess that Jesus is our Savior. With out ceasing to be God, Jesus took our full humanity: flesh and blood, human physique and reasoning soul, with human thoughts and feelings and can, and with all our lowliness and ordinariness. Jesus had a traditional Hebrew title: Yeshua, Joshua. Within the incarnation, he added to his everlasting divine individual a full and full human nature and got here amongst us, as one among us, to avoid wasting us.
So, Jesus is superb as sovereign Lord, and Jesus is superb as our rescuing, self-sacrificing Savior. And we come to Revelation 5 to linger within the paradox and wonder of splendor and meekness, of may and mercy, of grandeur and gentleness, on this one spectacular individual.
Our Longings Met in Jesus
In verse 1, the apostle John appears and sees — in the proper hand of God, the one seated on heaven’s throne — “a scroll written inside and on the again, sealed with seven seals.” These are the everlasting and hidden functions of God to be unfolded in historical past, the thriller of his manifold knowledge to be revealed within the fullness of time, judgments towards his enemies and salvation for his individuals within the coming chapters of Revelation. Centuries earlier than, God had mentioned to his prophet (in Daniel 12:4), “Shut up the phrases and seal the guide, till the time of the tip.” Now the sealed scroll is within the hand of God, in full view of all of heaven, able to be unsealed.
John is riveted. He needs to know what’s within the scroll. What mysteries does God must reveal? What knowledge of God, what functions for historical past, may now be made recognized on this scroll? Then John hears in verse 2 “a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who’s worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?’”
Now, at this level, it may be tempting to run proper by way of verses 3 and 4 and miss the load of this second in heaven. Not so quick. That is what the seasons of Creation and Lent are for: to decelerate and really feel the load within the ready. As an alternative of racing forward to Christmas, or Easter, we put together our hearts by pausing to really feel a number of the ache of what God’s individuals felt for hundreds of years as they waited for the promised Messiah. Or the horror and utter devastation of what his disciples felt within the agony of Good Friday and in what will need to have appeared just like the longest day within the historical past of the world on Holy Saturday. The pause, the ready, helps us see and benefit from the risen Christ because the supreme Treasure he’s.
So, the angel asks, “Who’s worthy to open the guide?” And verse 3 says, “Nobody in heaven or on earth or beneath the earth was in a position to open the scroll or to look into it.” Nobody in heaven. Not one of the 4 nice creatures across the throne. Not one of the angelic elders who lead in worship. Not one of the angels, in all of the heavenly host. Not Gabriel. Not Michael. And get this: not even the one sitting on the throne opens the scroll. Not the Father. Not the Spirit. So, heaven waits.
And if nobody in heaven, then after all nobody on the earth or beneath the earth. None dwelling or lifeless is worthy to open God’s scroll. Mere people like us should not worthy to unveil his nice thriller. And so, heaven waits. “Nobody in heaven or on earth or beneath the earth was in a position to open the scroll or to look into it.”
Weep No Extra
John begins to weep, loudly. Maybe he even wonders, What about Jesus? Verse 4: “I started to weep loudly as a result of nobody was discovered worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” John doesn’t inform us how lengthy he wept, however mercifully, the announcement quickly got here.
In verse 5 — what a tremendous second — one of many elders turns to John and says,
Weep no extra; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, in order that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
So, now by way of the lens of verses 5–6, let’s look collectively at three features of the longing and aches of our souls fulfilled in Jesus, our Treasure.
1. We lengthy for majesty and may.
We lengthy to see and admire and profit from greatness. And the voice rings out in verse 5, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.”
“Lion of Judah” signifies that that is the long-promised king of Israel, the Messiah. In Genesis 49, because the patriarch Jacob neared demise, he prophesied over every of his twelve sons, and mentioned to Judah that his tribe would produce the nation’s kings:
Judah, your brothers shall reward you. . . . Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you could have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion. . . . The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s workers from between his ft, till tribute involves him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. (Genesis 49:8–10)
Like a lion, Judah’s offspring will rule the peoples. Lionlike he shall be king, with majesty and may.
“Root of David” is way the identical, prophesied centuries later, in Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse [David’s father], and a department from his roots shall bear fruit.”
So, Jesus is first proven to be majestic and mighty. He’s king, ruler, the Lion. He’s sovereign, and fulfills our longings for greatness, for a ruler robust and mighty to impress us with energy and win our belief and shield us and supply for us and provides us life.
However we lengthy not just for an important human king. We lengthy for God himself. And this Lion of Judah is not only Messiah, a human king. He’s God himself.
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) famously spoke of the “infinite abyss” in each human soul. We attempt to fill it with all of the wonders and the worst this world has to supply — meals, drink, luxuries, work, relationships, sports activities and championships, studying, kids, and a lot extra. However that ache in us, that restlessness, that infinite abyss in us, can solely be stuffed by the infinite God himself. As Augustine so memorably mentioned, God made us for himself, and our hearts are stressed till they discover their relaxation in him.
“When majesty and meekness come collectively in a single individual, they accent one another. They burst with magnificence.”
So, I ask you this morning: Have you ever discovered your soul’s relaxation in God? Have you ever discovered what your soul hungers for in his everlasting, divine excellencies? Are you continue to looking? Are you continue to thirsty? Have you ever discovered the One in whom your soul, in all of the ups and downs of this life, shall be happy without end? Or maybe, did you study it up to now, however you now desperately want to come back again to it? Behold the Lion of Judah.
God wired your soul for him. Laborious as you could strive, you’ll not be actually, deeply, enduringly glad aside from him.
We lengthy for majesty and may, and Jesus is the Lion.
2. We lengthy for meekness and nearness.
Take a look at verse 6. Having simply heard along with his ear the announcement in verse 5 concerning the worthiness of the Lion, John turns, and what does he see along with his eyes?
Between the throne and the 4 dwelling creatures and among the many elders I noticed a Lamb standing, as if it had been slain.
In verse 5, John hears Lion, however in verse 6, John sees Lamb. And that is no disappointment. This isn’t a loss. That is achieve. That is addition, not subtraction.
Jesus is the Lion of Judah, and no much less, however he’s additionally the slain Lamb. The Lion grew to become Lamb, and gave himself to slaughter on the cross that he may rescue his individuals from their sins. His lamb-ness doesn’t take away from his lion-ness; it provides to it.
Jesus isn’t solely majestic and mighty. He’s meek and close to, lowly, amongst us, as one among us. We not solely need to see greatness from afar; we lengthy to know greatness personally. We not solely desire a hero to admire. We ache for a brother to be at our aspect, a companion, a good friend. And Jesus, as Lamb, is Immanuel, God with us. With us as one among us. With us to sacrifice himself for us. With us to shed his personal blood that our sins may be coated and we may be forgiven. With us to befriend us and defend us.
God designed our souls not just for his greatness, but additionally his nearness and his meekness.
You may ask, If Jesus is God, and has been from eternity, what does his humanity have so as to add to his being our Treasure? His divine excellencies are infinite. But we’re human, and his changing into human exposes to our view glories we in any other case wouldn’t see. Because of this we love the gorgeous paradoxes of Jesus. His paradoxes don’t take away from his glory; they add to it — and provides him distinct glory.
In 1734, Jonathan Edwards preached a well-known sermon on “The Excellency of Christ.” In it, he says,
Christ has no extra excellency in his individual, since his incarnation, than he had earlier than; for divine excellency is infinite, and can’t be added to. But his human excellencies are extra manifestations of his glory and excellency to us, and are extra suggestions of him to our esteem and love, who’re of finite comprehension. . . . The glory of Christ in . . . his human nature, seems to us in excellencies which might be of our personal [human] variety, and are exercised in our personal means and method, and so, in some respect, are peculiarly fitted to ask our acquaintance and draw our affection. (emphasis added)
So, the Lion, in changing into Lamb — the everlasting Son in changing into man — whereas not enhancing his divine price, grew to become a good higher Treasure to us, who lengthy for meekness and nearness, for a brother and good friend.
3. In Jesus, we’ve got it multi functional individual.
It’s one factor to see and benefit from the divine excellencies of unmatched energy and data. And one other to see and benefit from the human excellencies of humility and friendship. After which best of all is to see and benefit from the full vary of divine and human excellencies in a single individual. As a result of when majesty and meekness come collectively in a single individual, they accent one another. They burst with magnificence. As Edwards says, they “set off and advocate one another.”
We see it first in verse 6: John says he “noticed a Lamb standing, as if it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes.” This Lamb isn’t lifeless. He isn’t slumped over. He isn’t kneeling. He’s standing, alive and prepared. And he has seven horns — signifying the fullness of his energy and energy. And 7 eyes, that means he sees and guidelines all. Nothing is hidden from him. That he’s Lamb makes his lionlike work all of the extra superb.
For the remainder of Revelation, Lamb would be the primary title for Jesus, as he shows his energy and energy time and again. Right here’s only a pattern:
- We’re instructed it’s the Lamb who has conquered to open the scroll and seals (5:5; 6:1; 8:1).
- The lowly Lamb ransomed individuals for God from each tribe (5:9).
- This humble Lamb is asserted worthy to obtain energy and wealth and knowledge and may and honor and glory and blessing (5:12–13).
- The 4 dwelling creatures and the angels of heaven fall down and worship the Lamb (5:8, 14).
- Unbelievers tremble earlier than the wrath of the Lamb (6:16).
- The robes of the saints are made white in his blood, with the forgiving energy of the Lamb (7:14).
- The accuser of the brothers is conquered by the blood of the Lamb (12:11).
- And this Lamb, in all his meekness, is seated on the throne of heaven (7:9, 10) and within the midst of the throne (22:1, 3).
And we not solely admire the Lamb for his lionlike energy and energy, but additionally the Lion for his lamblike gentleness and style. He offers his personal neck for our rescue.
We admire his greatness all of the extra in his nearness to us. And we take pleasure in his nearness all of the extra due to his greatness. As a result of he’s the Lamb, and has drawn close to to avoid wasting us, we are able to take pleasure in his lionlike majesty and holiness with out shaking in terror. And since he’s the Lion, and wields the very energy of God almighty, we are able to take pleasure in his lamblike humility and meekness and obedience to his Father — as man — with out our worrying that he’s powerless to assist his mates and brothers.
So, God designed our souls for Jesus. Not only a divine Father, and never only a human good friend, however God himself in human flesh, totally God and totally man, in a single spectacular individual.
He isn’t solely our Lord. And never solely our Savior. He’s our Treasure. He’s the Pearl of Biggest Worth. He’s the one among surpassing worth, for whom we take into account all else loss. He’s the Treasure hidden within the area worthy of promoting all to have. Everlasting life is to know him, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has despatched (John 17:3).
You had been made not just for God, however for the God-man, for Jesus, who cherished us and gave himself up for us and rose once more to be our dwelling, knowable, satisfying King.
