The Lion and the Lamb

     The adage “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” is well known. It refers to March being a transition month between the cold snowy, windy end of winter and the beginning of more pleasant warm days of April.

     Although this doesn’t always hold true with the onset of climate change, it is a general gage to judge the weather.

     What does hold true is that our Lord Jesus Christ is also described as a lion and a lamb. When Jacob was blessing his sons in Genesis 49, he called Judah a lion’s cub and that the ultimate ruler of Israel, the Messiah, would descend from Him.

     Later in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53, the Messiah is described as a lamb being led to slaughter. How confusing it must have been for the Old Testament prophets to wonder how the Savior of Israel could at the same time be a lion and a lamb.

     The mystery begins to unravel in the New Testament when it is explained that Jesus the Messiah would come at two separate times in two separate roles.

     When John saw Jesus during his first Advent he exclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.”  Jn1: 29. Later, John describes Jesus during his second coming as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has triumphed.

     Having perfect hindsight, we know that when Jesus came to earth the first time he came as the lamb who was slain for the sacrifice for our sins. Having perfect foresight through the scripture, we know that Jesus will come again, this time to be the lion, destroy all His enemies and rule on the earth for 1000 years.

     The Old Testament presents Jesus first as the lamb lion then as the lamb, the same order as the weather prediction. The New Testament reverses the order, first the lamb then the lion. God’s perfect timing.

Thanks be to God that Jesus came first as the lamb as a sacrifice for my sins so that I don’t have to face the wrath of the lion when He comes in judgment.

     As we enjoy the transition from Winter to Spring this month anxiously awaiting the warmth and new life of April, let it be a reminder that our Lamb has already come and we that we anxiously await the coming of the Lion.

Thankful to the Lamb, waiting for the Lion.

Pastor Dave