Christmas, 2020 Part 4: Christ the Lion of Judah

Christmas, 2020, Part 4: Christ, the Lion of Judah We have traveled far during this Christmas season! And we didn't even leave home. Through the teaching of the Scripture, the birth of Messiah was the starting point. From there, we traveled back, even before God spoke, "let there be." In eternity past, there alone was the Blessed Trinity. The Scripture reveals the Persons as Father, Son, and Spirit. Perfect harmony. Perfect in relationship. And out of sheer delight to bring glory to himself, God spoke the creation into existence. What makes Christmas, Christmas is that the agent through which all came to be, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word of God, became flesh. He dwelt among us. The Apostle John describes him this way, "And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Who is this one full of grace and truth? What is his name? John tells us in John 1.17: "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." This one, deity clothing himself in humanity, is Jesus the Messiah-Christ. The Creator, limitless in every aspect of who he is, took on every limitation of human creature--except one. Jesus was not conceived in nor did he receive a sinful nature. A human nature, yes, but not a sinful human nature. His is was what Adam's nature was before he fell-sinless, but human. In Psalm 51:5 we read David's extreme sorrow because of his sin committing adultery with another man's wife and then effectively hiring others to murder her husband. That's about as wicked as a man can go. David understands his sin and tells God, "In sin did my mother conceive me." This simply means that David understands he was a sinner even before he was born. His nature came along with who he was. And how we all need to keep this truth in mind: sinful nature knows no bounds. All of us are capable of the most vile sins. And they can come out at the worst of times. But Jesus, as deity made flesh did not have a sinful human nature. God was and is his Father, not Adam. It was through Adam that we all inherited a sinful nature, our natural bent toward sin. And so, deity, walking around in human form, born March 20, 6 B.C. according to some, had a purpose for coming. A virgin, Mary bore Jesus, wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger. As we learned a couple of weeks ago, it was not just any manger, not just any place. It was most likely the "Tower of the Flock." A place at the outskirts of Bethlehem where the Temple shepherds went to birth the lambs in their care. At the Tower the shepherds birthed the lambs, tied their legs together with swaddling cloths and laid them in the stone manger to inspect them, making sure they were qualified to be a Passover sacrifice, without spot or blemish. On the night Jesus was born, when the angels told the shepherds that Christ the Lord was born, and that they would find him wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger, they knew exactly where to look. They dropped what they were doing and paid him a visit. And pastor and author James Scudder who did the research I just cited finishes his thought about Christ's birth this way: "How incredible is it that the 'Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world' was born in the exact place that the sacrificial lambs for the Temple were born?" Throughout Christ's life, though fully human, though tempted to sin in every way like we are, never yielded once in attitude, thought, word, or deed. Remember how Jesus went into the wilderness after his baptism and during those 40 days was continually harassed and tempted by the devil during his fast. When Jesus had enough and told the evil one to scram, Luke writes this in Luke 4:13, And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. The devil would come again. And again. Throughout the days of Christ's ministry. And this is what the enemy does to us as well. He is always probing, looking for chinks in our armor. For that one spot, and for many, the large number of spots he can exploit. But as followers of Christ, we can rejoice in Him. Not only did he take our sin away as God's lamb, he sent to us the Holy Spirit, who empowers us, protects us, prays for us, and so much more in our struggle against sin. John tells us in his first letter in 1 John 4.4: Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. We don't have to yield to sin. Our Lord, by his Spirit has given us everything we need to obtain the victory. Do you believe it? But back to the life of the Lamb of God. As I mentioned and Scripture makes abundantly clear, Jesus is God's spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. He offered himself as the perfect sacrifice. Some of his last words before he gave up his Spirit to the Father were "It is finished!" "Paid in full!" The sin debt we owe holy God has been completely paid. This is the Lamb of God. This is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made flesh. As glorious, and mysterious and beyond words as the death of the sinless Son of God was, there was something else that he needed to do to secure our redemption. As God's eternal High Priest, he took his own blood, untainted by sin, entered into the heavenly holy places and perfectly sprinkled it in front of the heavenly Ark of the Covenant. Remember how on the Day of Atonement under the Old Covenant, the High Priest would go into the holiest place in the physical tabernacle, and later on, in the Temple with the blood of a goat. He would sprinkle it 7 times in front of the earthly Ark of the Covenant. And the sins of the people would be covered over for a year. Then next year he would have to repeat the process, hoping that he would do things right. Because if he did not, God would kill him on the spot and the sins of the people would not be covered. But in order for the sins of the people to be covered it was not enough for the High Priest to merely kill the animal. It was not enough for him to just collect its blood into a container. It was not enough for the High Priest to only enter the Holy of Holies and stand in front of the Ark. In order for the sins of the people to be covered over, the blood had to be applied. It was the same way with the Great High Priest. Jesus, deity made flesh, God's Lamb and sin-bearer, took his own blood in hand. And when he applied his blood in front of the heavenly Ark of the Covenant, all sins were covered over, not just for a year but forever! And now, what is God's High Priest doing on our behalf? Praying for us, taking our feeble prayers, and mingling them with his own almighty prayers and placing them before the Father! The work of redemption is done. Jesus the High Priest sat down at the right hand of the Father. But his work of intercession, praying for all of his people continues. Hear again from J.C. Ryle's book, "A Call to Prayer" to encourage us to spend time in his presence pouring out our hearts to him: "The ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the cry of all who want mercy and grace. It is His office to help them. Their prayer is His delight." Indeed. Is this not encouragement to go to the Lord often in prayer? God's High Priest, our Heavenly High Priest, is waiting for you and me to pray. He wants to intermingle our poor prayers with his almighty prayers. And so today, in our Christmas journey 2020, we come to our last picture, our last symbol of Messiah: Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Let's take in the awesome majesty of God's Lion. First, why a lion? Let's get the mindset of those who lived over there, back then. Let me give you several quotes that I ran across from various places: Lions weigh about 400 pounds on average and usually are about 4 ft tall at the shoulder. They can run about 50 mph for short distances-more than enough speed to catch their prey, to include people! The Israelites knew lions as ruthless, almost unstoppable killers, taking from the flock at will. They frequently worked from ambush in that part of the world, but even when not actively hunting, their roar, heard for about 5 miles, served to spread their fear to everyone nearby. No doubt many more people had heard a lion than had seen one, and this only heightened the fear factor about lions. Needless to say, lions were very scary to those who lived in Israel back in the day. God used them as agents in punishment and even the mention of their teeth, their paws or mouths made the fears of people rise to the top in their hearts and minds. To the psalmists, the wicked acted like lions. And Scripture even compares God himself in his destructive wrath with a lion as we read in Hosea 5.14: "I, even I, will rend and go away; I will carry off, and none shall rescue." The carved lions flanking Solomon's throne serve as graphic reminders of the king's absolute power as we read in 1 Kings 10:19-20: The throne had six steps, and twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. As powerful as lions are, there were people who actually killed them in the OT--in the days before rifles, or even grenades! We think of Samson, David and even one of David's mighty men, Benaiah. Can you imagine how fearless they were to not only stare lions down but take them out. And of course, when we think of lions, Daniel comes to mind. The angel of the Lord shut the mouths of the lions while he was in their den, as he suffered for righteousness. In short, when people in Bible times experienced a lion, they thought about them much like we do--fearsome, majestic, powerful animals with overwhelming destructive force and the complete ability to subdue one's enemies. And I suppose if I could actually get on a lion's good side and have him as a pet, then I would love for him to be my protector! So, now that we have a picture of a lion etched in our minds, let's go to the first mention in Scripture of a lion in reference to Messiah. Gen 49:8-12: "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. If we remember when we went through Genesis a couple years back, this is the time when Jacob blessed his sons right before he passed away. Jacob heaps praise and honor on Judah for a number of reasons. But the most important one is in the form of a Messianic blessing, a prophecy. Jacob described Judah as a lion; we will see this picture again. He will have permanent possession of a scepter--symbol of kingship. All nations will owe allegiance to Judah. To sum up, a descendant of Judah was going to be the Messiah--King of the nations. Because the clock moves so quickly, I'm just going to trace predictions of the Messiah through history. The first major stop would be with David, a man after God's own heart. The Lord revealed to David, now king of Israel, that the Lord was going to greatly bless him forever. God tells David these words in 2 Samuel 7:12-13: When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Fast forward many centuries to a little conversation Gabriel had with Mary. He tells her God's message in Luke 1:30-33, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Notice the nature of the announcement! Gabriel told Mary what to name her baby--call him "Jesus"--literally, "salvation"--akin to the O.T. name of Joshua. But look at the description of Jesus: He will be called the Son of the Most High--Son of God. The Lord will give the throne of David to him. He will reign over the house of Jacob. His kingdom will be forever. This is the very one Jacob predicted would come! His reign will have no end, both in terms of geography and length of time: world-wide. Forever. True to Gabriel's promise, Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. They stayed in town for around 6 weeks until she was able to present him in the Temple and offer a "poor person's sacrifice"; a new mother was not allowed in the Temple until she was ceremonially clean. A man named Simeon blessed him, and Joseph and Mary. And Anna spoke words of praise regarding Jesus as well. Then Luke gives this bit of info in Luke 2.39: And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. So, with Jesus in Mary's arms, who we call the holy family went home. But not to worry. Joseph and Mary loved the Lord God, they would make that 90 mile trek from Nazareth to Jerusalem to observe the Passover every year. It was probably their 2nd trip to Jerusalem after Jesus was born that the Magi came to town. They went to Herod and asked him, "So, king. Where is the one born king of the Jews? We saw his star and followed it here. We come to worship him." Long story short, Herod told them to go look for him in Bethlehem and when they found him, to be sure to tell him so that he could "worship him too". Well we know the story. Herod was not interested in worshiping one born king of the Jews-he was king! He would not have any rivals to his throne. And one night shortly after their visit, Herod dispatched his soldiers to Bethlehem and had all the baby boys 2 years old and under killed. But an angel was one step ahead of Herod. He woke up Joseph and told them to get out of town -- go to Egypt and lay low there because the king was on his way to kill the Lion of Judah. In the dead of night, he, Mary and Jesus headed for Egypt and waited for a few years until the coast was clear. Herod died. But Archelaus, who was just about as bloodthirsty as his father, took the throne. So, by stealth as it were, Joseph, Mary and Jesus crossed back into the land and went home to Nazareth. Jesus grew up. He began his ministry when he was about 30. He did things to demonstrate that he, indeed was the Messiah. He did things to show that he was bringing in the abundant kingdom, as Jacob said he would. A kingdom where disease is taken care of. Plenty of food to eat-think of the thousands of sardine sandwiches he fed the people-twice! Forces of evil will be vanquished at his command. Even death will be a thing of the past, as he told people to come out of their graves and they did. How would you like to be a loved one at one of those funerals? But the Lion was supposed to deliver them from Rome. Everybody knew that. They were waiting for him to rise up and save them from oppression. Isn't that what he said in his early sermon, reading from Isaiah 61:1-2? "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." How could it be that the Romans still had their way with God's people? Wasn't the Messiah supposed to set them free? When was the Lion going to roar? Though Jesus brought New Kingdom blessings, he needed to deal with an oppression far greater, much deeper than God's people ever imagined. Certainly the Jews knew something about this oppression. About sin. Their rebellion against the Most High is what caused their captivity in Babylon and Persia and their even now being occupied by Rome. They knew their sin. Passover lambs. Yom Kippur. So much blood. Though the Lion was going to usher in a permanent golden age at some point, he first had to free the captives. All of them. So, when Jesus was about 33 years old, the Lion played the role of lamb. The one who was fearless in the face of religious hypocrisy. Who demonstrated devastating power over evil forces. Who commanded nature with a word and a simple gesture. Who had absolute authority to forgive sin, was now going to fulfill the role of the suffering servant. It was this part that the Jews missed. The oppressed included many more people than just the Jews. The ultimate enemy that oppressed the entire world was not Rome. It was devil. And the sinless Son of God paid the price to set all people free. It was his blood that did it. Isaiah 53:5-11: he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every one-to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. And it was in that sacrifice the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, roared the loudest. The real oppressor of the human race had to be vanquished. The battle for the souls of men was waged and won on two pieces of wood, as the Lion turned lamb was suspended between heaven and earth. Here's how the writer to the Hebrews described it: Hebrews 2:14-18: Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery-the real oppression. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. When the Lamb from the cross roared as the Lion, "It is finished", the power of the oppressor was broken. The one who had the power of death was destroyed. Rendered inoperative. Brought to nothing. And on that resurrection Sunday, 3 days after Jesus was placed in the tomb--that is where dead people go--he emerged, himself victorious over death! And now that he is raised, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah ascended and is now ruling and reigning. Messiah has ushered in a foretaste of glory divine! He has sent his Spirit to carry on the work of salvation that he began. The Holy Spirit convicts, gives new life, empowers, teaches, guides, and is continually making his people new. And though Jesus gave us a taste of all he is going to usher in, how we all need encouragement. In our day, let us count the ways that despair could overtake us. At the end of the first century, things were intense as well. Mass persecution was going on. Tortures most hideous was the plight of the Christians. John the apostle was no stranger to persecution. Church tradition tells us that he was boiled in oil and lived. He was also taken from his ministry, caring for the church in Ephesus, caring for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Placed in prison on the island of Patmos. On one glorious Lord's day-Sunday-heaven visited John. Beginning with Jesus in ALL his glory, he appeared to his beloved disciple. And John fell down as dead. Fainted dead away. But in his tender mercy, the Lord Jesus placed his right hand-the hand of honor-on John. And the glorified Lord Jesus told him in Revelation 1:17-19 to "Fear not!" With all due respect, if I were in John's place I don't think I would have been capable of obeying that command! But the Lord continued, "I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this." Soon after these things, John "looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne." And in faithful obedience to the Lord's command to write, John wrote unspeakable things of the glory and majesty of all that was and continues to take place around the throne of God. Then John experienced this: Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. And that was just the beginning of John's witness of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Later on in his vision, John sees the Lion breaking every seal on the scroll-the title deed to the earth. At the right time, he will return here and claim what his rightly his. He was he the agent of creation, and he purchased this place with his own blood. At the right time, the Lion will return and save his people. Read all about it in Revelation 19. He will destroy his enemies with a word-the sharp sword that will come out of his mouth. His words will literally have the power of life and death. And for 1,000 years, the Lion will usher in his kingdom, full force! He will make all things new. With the coming of Messiah there will be paradise-like splendor. One author describes it as exuberant, intoxicating abundance. It will be the golden age of the Coming One, whose universal rule was predicted. Grapevines will be so abundant that they will be used for hitching posts; wine will be as abundant as wash water. People's eyes will be bright from an abundance of wine and their teeth will be white from drinking much milk. Such opulence will be evident in the Millennium. At the end of these days, the Lion will be the one before whom we all will stand. This ferocious One will sit on the Great White Throne. We will all give to him an account of our lives. To include Herod-you know, the puny king who tried to kill the Lion? Yeah, that one. What do you think that interchange is going to be like? And on the more personal level, what will be the interchange you will have with him? That I will have with him? And the Lion of the Tribe of Judah will speak. It will be a most terrifying roar to those he will condemn. Those who never repented of their sin and embraced his gospel, they will hear him say, "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." And these shall go away to eternal punishment. But to those who are righteous, who have repented of their sin and embraced his gospel, the very same Lion will utter the sweetest words any human would or could ever hear: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And the righteous will go into eternal life. This my friends is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This is our King. This one is our protector. Our provider. To whom all praise is due. So, what is our response? Simple. But profound. Just as we took a journey through the Scripture and heard God's story over this Christmas season, let's follow the Lion on the journey. Since the day salvation came to us as we responded to the Holy Spirit's conviction, repented from going our own way and embraced the gospel, we were no longer at home in this world. We were set apart for God and given a new life. Literally the life of God's Lion was given to us. Jesus encapsulated it in his famous words in John 10.10, spoken to and about his sheep: I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Since that day, Jesus' saying has been true of us: we are in the world but not of it. Truly the abundant life Jesus gives his people is the only way to live. A new identity as his people. His ways of Torah are on our hearts. We have received forgiveness of sins now and forever. Power to live his supernatural life in the here and now. And a sure and settled hope in the life to come. So, while we are waiting to meet the Lion of the Tribe of Judah face to face, how shall we then live? We live out the abundant life. We make Jesus' words that we are in the world but not of it conspicuous in our lives. We get ready to go home. Home where we belong. Where we will gladly say, "we long with all our hearts to have this one rule over us." To God be the glory!