The Lion and The Lamb

Two of the ornaments on my curio shelf show the Lion and the Lamb. These are two names for God used in Scripture. They refer to Jesus. Jesus is the Lion of Judah. The attributes of Jesus are as majestic and powerful as a lion. We think of the lion as the King of the jungle or the King of the Beasts. The Lion King comes to my mind. I had the opportunity to go see the musical while in London 20 years ago. The costumes were amazing.

I am also reminded of Aslan the Lion in the Chronicles of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis.

The Lamb of God refers to Jesus as well. Prior to the exodus from Egypt, the children of Israel were instructed to take the blood of an unblemished lamb and smear it on the doorposts of their houses. That night, as the angel of the Lord passed through Egypt killing the firstborn of each household, those with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts would be passed over and sparred. This is what the Jewish people remember and celebrate at Passover.

In Old Testament law, the unblemished lamb was used as a sacrifice for covering human sins. An innocent lamb would take the place of the person who had sinned. The penalty for sin was death.

When Jesus began his ministry on earth, John the Baptist proclaimed, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’ When Jesus died on the cross, He became the perfect sacrifice. He took our place and the penalty for sin was paid once and for all.

I love the expression on the faces of the lions in my picture. The Lamb is not afraid of the Lion and the Lion of Judah appears to be protecting the Lamb.

Thoughts? What comes to mind when you see the Lion and the Lamb?

# living life abundantly   # published author