25-0914p - Jesus, Lamb of God, Tom Freed
Bible Reader: John Nousek
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Jesus, Lamb of God, Lion of God
Transcript (0:04 - 13:07)
Revelation 5:5-10: (0:04) This reading, God’s Word, comes to us very back of the New Testament, in the book of (0:13) Revelation, chapter 5, verses 5 through and including 10. God’s Word reads as (0:23) follows, and one of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is (0:30) from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the (0:37) book and its seven seals. And I saw between the throne, with the four living (0:45) creatures and the elders, a lamb standing as if slain, having seven horns and (0:53) seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And (1:01) he came and took the book |
out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. (1:08) When he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell (1:13) down before the lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, (1:20) which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are (1:27) you to take the book and to break its seals. For you were slain and purchased (1:34) for God with your blood, many from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, (1:42) who have made them to be a kingdom, and priests who are God, and they will reign (1:51) upon the earth. Amen. (1:54)# |
Transcript
Preacher: Tom Freed
(1:59) Good afternoon. Good evening. Good to see everybody back.
Thanks for the (2:05) reading, John. I know it was longer than this morning, so hard to find something with the lamb and the lion (2:11) in it together. That’s my sermon.
It’s Jesus, the Lamb of God, and the Lion of Judah. Picture this, a world in (2:22) chaos, families divided, nations at odds, and hearts heavy with fear. Sound familiar? In 2025, we are no (2:34) strangers to uncertainty.
Definitely a lot of chaos in the present time, but as well (2:44) as 2,000 years ago, God’s people faced their own turmoil under Roman rule, yearning for a Messiah to save them. (2:56) Well, as Solomon says, there’s nothing new under the sun. Thousands of years ago, it’s like today.
Rome, you know, we’re a lot of ways like Rome, and we have a lot of the same issues as Rome. (3:12) The Jews, they were under Roman rule and were looking for a savior. They imagined a warrior king, a lion roaring with power to crush their enemies.
(3:26) But God sent Jesus, a humble carpenter, a sacrificial lamb. They did the exact opposite of what they thought God would send. (3:37) Today, we’ll explore the mystery of Jesus as both the Lamb of God and the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and how his dual nature transforms our lives.
(3:48) Let’s pray the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to His truth. Have you ever expected God to solve your problems one way, only to be surprised by His approach? (4:03) Sure, many of you have thought that you’d think that God should, you know, do things the way you want. But God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours, we sometimes can’t understand it.
(4:16) The Jews longed for a Messiah like David, the conqueror to overthrow Rome, Exodus 14, 21-22. Even Jesus' disciples pictured Him on the throne of earthly power. (4:32) James and John’s mother asked for prime seats in this kingdom, Matthew 20, 20-21.
And Peter recalled that talk of suffering. (4:46) But Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world, John 18, 36. He didn’t come to dominate, but to redeem.
He didn’t come the way they thought He would. (4:59) You know, they wanted a warrior. They thought, you know, that they needed somebody like David to get them out from under Roman rule.
(5:15) Today, we too can box God into our own agendas, expecting Him to fix our careers, politics, or struggles our way. Have you ever done this? (5:28) I’m sure nowadays, especially with politics, you think, God, why are you letting this happen? Maybe even with Charlie Crick, you think, why did he have to die? (5:38) All the craziness going on. We expect, you know, we think that maybe we have a better solution than God does.
Yet Jesus calls us to trust His higher plan. (5:52) One of surrender over control. What expectations might you need to release to embrace His path? (6:03) In Genesis 49, 9-10, Jacob called Judah a lion’s wolf, a symbol of raw power and kingship, pointing to Jesus, the root of David, Revelation 5-5.
(6:21) In Revelation, John weeps over a sealed scroll when an elder declares the lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered. (6:31) Jesus triumphs over sin, death, and evil, 1 Corinthians 15. Picture Him in Revelation 19, 11-16, riding a white horse, eyes blazing, crowned as king of kings.
(6:50) His roar shakes the heavens, assuring us no crisis, personal, cultural, or global, can dethrone Him. (7:01) In a world of shifting powers, from political upheaval to media storms, the lion’s strength is our refuge, Psalm 46-1. (7:13) How can His sovereignty give you courage today? So we can see how He’s a lion.
You know, how He’s in heaven, how He’s sitting on the throne. He’s king of kings. He’s all-powerful.
(7:27) Yet Jesus is also the Lamb of God. John the Baptist proclaimed, Behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. (7:37) This recalls the Passover Lamb, whose blood saved Israel, Exodus 12, 1-13, and Isaiah’s suffering servant, silent before the slaughter.
(7:53) You can remember Him on trial before Pilate, where He didn’t speak a word. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins, healing us by His wounds. (8:03) In Revelation 5-6, John sees a lamb, as though it had been slain, yet standing, alive, victorious, with perfect power and wisdom.
(8:16) Unlike temporary sacrifices, His death atones forever, Hebrews 9. (8:26) This gentleness invites us, Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest. (8:35) When you’re broken by grief, failure, or sin, you can run to the Lamb for healing. By His wounds we are healed, and by His blood we are saved.
(8:53) So why both images? The Lamb’s victory enables the Lamb’s redemption. The Lamb’s sacrifice reveals the Lamb’s love. (9:06) Together they show Jesus as fully God and fully man.
Powerful yet humble, Philippians 2, 5-8. (9:15) In 20-25’s divided world, this duality shapes us. As lambs we are called to humility, forgive others, Ephesians 4-32.
(9:28) Serve like Jesus, washing feet, John 13-4. And trust God in suffering, Romans 8-28. (9:37) As the Lion’s followers, we’re empowered to live boldly.
Stand for justice, Micah 6-8. (9:46) Share the gospel, Acts 4-29. And face trials knowing He’s won, Romans 8-37.
(9:57) We can see that we can have both this duality as well. We can be a lamb and a lion in this world. (10:05) And that’s what we need to be to win certain people over.
We need to use one or the other tactic. (10:13) So practically this week, try one act of humility, like listening to somebody you disagree with. (10:20) And one act of courage, like speaking truth in love.
(10:28) The Bible says in Proverbs 28-1, the wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. (10:38) So we need to be bold like a lion. Just like Jesus.
We shouldn’t be scared of the wicked. (10:45) We shouldn’t be scared of the world. A lot of us are scared to speak up.
A lot of us fear what will happen. (10:53) Like we said earlier, look at Charlie Kirk. He was partly killed because he was speaking about Christianity (11:02) and Christian morals and beliefs.
But we shouldn’t fear. The wicked should flee from us. (11:12) You are a lamb in His flock, guarded by the lion, John 10-11.
(11:18) We can be bold because we know that Jesus is watching over us and we have the Holy Spirit in us. (11:26) So behold Jesus, the lamb who bled for you and the lion who fights for you. (11:33) Surrender to His sacrifice.
Submit to His reign. Let His duality shape your life. (11:40) Humble in service, heroic in faith.
(11:45) As Revelation 5, 9-10 declares, He has made us kingdom and priest to our God. (11:54) Will you live as such today? (11:59) Let us carefully go out into the world this week and proclaim the gospel boldly. (12:05) Knowing our Savior, the Lion of Judah, is guarding us.
(12:11) So we need to remember that. We need to go out into the world. (12:17) We need to change the world.
We have to do it. Nobody else is going to. (12:24) As much as we like somebody else, just like the Jews look to Jesus to say He is our only Savior.
(12:34) We can’t look to politicians. We can’t look to somebody else, celebrities or anybody else. (12:41) As much as I love to think that some politician or higher person in the government is going to do something for us, (12:48) it doesn’t ever seem like they will.
(12:51) So we’re the ones that have to make the change. (12:55) We have to be bold, but also gentle like a lion. (13:00) If any of you need any prayers or want to come forward for anything good God has done for us, now is the time.