Baby Jesus IS the Lion of Judah

Open: Christians proclaim that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. We place the focus on the Miracle of the Manger: The entrance of the Eternal 2nd person of the Trinity into His own creation as the God-Man. An event that is worth observing and celebrating!

Sadly, most of the world does not accept the idea of Jesus being the reason for anything. I witnessed matching shirts soon after Christmas 2022 that declared, “pagan family making holiday memories.” This sums up the idea of dismissing the Baby in the Manger as unimportant and out of date.

Transition: Is this the true situation? Is the Manger unimportant in world-wide events? Is it safe to dismiss the baby Jesus?

The very clear answer from a Biblical perspective is a resounding NO! Jesus is NOT to be dismissed or ignored without serious consequences. Our text in Revelation 5 gives us insight into WHY it is important to respect and worship the Christ - Child.

READ the TEXT: Revelation 5:1-14

Jesus is Uniquely Worthy in all of Heaven and Earth (Revelation 5:1-5)

Explanation: The Apostle John has been supernaturally transported in the spirit from the Isle of Patmos to the Throne Room of Heaven. This event is described in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revelation. John is witnessing the beginning of the unfolding of events that will take place in the Final Days of this present earth. He sees a representation of the Father seated on His throne and He is holding out a sealed Scroll. An angel asks the question, “who is worthy to open the Book?” and no one in the entire created order has enough personal worth or merit to be able to open the Scroll.

This news devastates the Apostle and he begins to weep. Then, one of the Elders tells John to dry up his tears because Jesus is coming to receive the Scroll from the Father because He is worthy to open it.

Argument: Jesus is Unique. He is in a category set apart from the Creation. Jesus IS the Eternal 2nd person of the Trinity (John 1:1) and He IS the Creator of all things (John 1:3).

Application: The Unique and Holy One who IS worthy to receive the Scroll for the purpose of bringing final justice to the Created Order is also able to fix whatever is going on in your broken life.

Jesus IS the Lion and the Lamb (Revelation 5:5-6)

Explanation: John is told by the angel that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was found worthy to receive the Scroll. When John looks over at the Throne, he sees a Lamb instead of a Lion. What’s up with this? And the Lion was described as the One who HAD conquered (past tense); the Lamb that John sees is One who had been slain.

Argument: John was not confused, nor is there a mixup or contradiction in the text. This is not a matter of either / or but a situation of both / and.

Jesus IS the conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Jesus is the Son of Man (Daniel 7) who has ALREADY been given dominion and the One who is ALREADY reigning with all authority (Matt. 28:18)

Jesus IS also the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World (John 1:29). He is the One who knew no sin, but was made sin, so that we might be made the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21)

Application: For those who dismiss the Christ Child as unimportant or insignificant; for those who are in rebellion to the Revealed Word - each person in this category will one day confront the Conquering Lion. At the final judgement, all those outside of Christ will confess that the Conquering Lion is the Lord of all Creation and they WILL bow before Him (Phil 2:10-11)

Those of us who are IN Christ, however, will join with the Host of Heaven in giving Him worship. We have been led to see Jesus as our perfect sacrifice who brings us into the presence of the Father. Through faith in His sacrifice, we have received His righteousness which justifies us with God! What a praise! What a reason for rejoicing!

Jesus is Worthy of Worship and Obedience (Revelation 5:8-14)

Explanation: When Jesus takes the Scroll from the Right Hand of the Father, the Heavenly Host breaks forth in full worship! John sees the four living creatures falling prostrate at the feet of Jesus; he sees the 24 elders doing the same thing and singing praises to Jesus for His accomplished redemption. Then John watches as the angels join in with their worship (v. 11)

Argument: When faced with the Unique worthiness of Jesus as the Lion and the Lamb, the members of Heaven fall and worship at His feet. Their natural response to the Glory and Majesty that belongs to Jesus is that of Worship. The only proper response for us it to join with the Host of Heaven and give Him praise and worship!

Application: Worship is a verb; it is a RESPONSE to the holiness and worthiness of Jesus as Lord and Savior. Worship is a way of life; it is not be confused with attending a church service or singing praise songs. Those are indeed aspects of how we worship, but they are not in and of themselves worship. True worship flows from a heart that has been changed. Genuine worship is reflected in a live of obedience and service to the Risen Christ!