Beholding by Sight and by Faith
There are two ways of beholding Christ. The angels and departed saints behold Christ’s glory by sight, as did Jesus’ first disciples. John said, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The Lord Jesus wants all his followers of Christ to behold him by sight and enjoy him to the highest degree of intimacy. He prayed for that day in John 17:24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory that you have given me."
The other way of beholding Christ's glory is with the eyes of faith. Jesus said to Thomas after rising from the grave, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible” (1 Peter 1:8-9). Moses endured because of what saw by faith alone. “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).
As the soul by faith steadily gazes upon the glory of Christ, the Spirit of God brings about a miraculous transformation. “And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another, and this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:16). But this promise of radical inward change holds only for a true beholding of Christ’s glory. If our highest idea of Jesus comes from a picture we saw long ago of him holding children and our loftiest thought is a nursery rhyme, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child,” we have not yet beheld his glory nor should expect to be changed.
The Lion and the Lamb
In truth the Lord Jesus is a majestic being of great complexity. Jonathan Edwards more than 250 years ago said what makes Christ glorious is “an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies.” One place where the Bible proclaims the glory of Christ in the diversity of his attributes is Revelation 5:1-15, where he is portrayed as the Lion and the Lamb.
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. (Revelation 5:5-6)
The lion is strong and fierce, the lord of the jungle, an unstoppable power. Solomon reminded his people of the king's power and authority by placing statues of lions by the armrests of his throne. Proverbs 20:2 cautions against arousing the king's displeasure. “The dread wrath of a king is like the growling of a lion.” (Prov. 20:2). I recall watching lions at the Los Angeles Zoo when my son was young. As the female stared at us from the enclosure, her mate paced back and forth, back and forth, and each time he turned he raised his great head and roared, a long low growl I could feel inside my chest. The lion is also an image of courage. The righteous are “bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1). The valiant man of
Jesus is the Lion of Judah. He is bold, fierce, powerful, unstoppable. He sits upon a divine throne "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" (Ephesians 1:21). One day he will come again to judge the world and consummate his kingdom. Christ Jesus is fully capable, fully adequate, fully in command. Is this how we think of him?
At the same time that Christ displays lion-like attributes, he is also the Lamb, meek and gentle and lowly in heart. In Revelation 5:6, John sees “a Lamb…as though it had been slain.” The lamb was used in the Old Testament sacrificial system as a payment for sin. “And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Leviticus 17:11). But the sacrifice of all the lifestock in all the world could not pay the true price for even one person's sin. Animal sacrifice was symbolic only; it merely pointed to and foreshadowed God's perfect sacrifice for sin, his Only Son, the sinless Son of Man. Jesus is the perfect "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
Jesus conquered sin and death and the devil with the courage and strength of a lion, but he did it not with a roar and by force but quietly and lamb-like, by becoming a servant and sacrificing himself. If he wanted, Jesus had but to say a word and thousands of angels would arrive to obliterate those who opposed him. But he chose instead to apply his power against himself, by bringing his own instinct for self-preservation under control. He chose the way of humility and submission, yielding himself to the Father’s will by dying upon the cross to save sinners. “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” (Isaiah 53:7).
Responding to Christ's Glory
John Piper in Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ observes that the coming together of lion-like and lamb-like attributes in the person of Christ speaks to something deep within our own hearts. For we too are complex beings. The Lion appeals to our longing for greatness, our desire to be brave and strong and to overcome hardship; the Lamb appeals to a sense that our destiny lies in yielding ourselves to God, even as Jesus did. We long to give ourselves to a worthy cause, maybe even to die for something very important.
How do we respond to the sight of Christ's glory? In Revelation 5 the heavenly response is worship. First, the four living creatures and twenty-four elders fall down and sing, “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” (vs. 9). Then, hosts of angels numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands add their voices, proclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (vs. 11). Finally, every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them proclaim, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever” (vs. 13-14).
Amen. Amen. Amen.
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