The Lion and the Lamb. Sermon preached by. Carolyn M. Raffensperger. September 28, Big Bay. Rev 5:1-6:1

Transcription

1 The Lion and the Lamb Sermon preached by Carolyn M. Raffensperger September 28, 2014 Big Bay Rev 5:1-6:1 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

2 and honor and glory and praise!" 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. Gen 49:8-10 Ex 12: "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lioness--who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. 1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You

3 are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire--head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. 12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. We continue in the book of Revelation --the revelation of Jesus Christ. A Lion and a Lamb. 1. S. Lewis wrote a wonderful book called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, that you all should have read or be reading--buying a copy for yourself, your children and grandchildren. It tells the story of 4 children in England who are sent out into the country during the Second World War to be safe from German bombs. It is night when they should be in bed but instead they decide to explore the house. Luci discovers a wardrobe with coats--and she steps into the wardrobe[1], rubbing her face against the furs. She goes farther and farther in until she notices her feet crunch and it feels cold. Instead of fur she feels branches and soft snow falling. She has found Narnia--a place where it is always winter but never Christmas, where there are all kinds of interesting animals and a witch. It will always be winter under the control of the witch until Aslan comes. Luci and the other children have some adventures, meet interesting characters, one of whom is a beaver with whom they have dinner. They are upset because Mr. Tumnus has been captured and they are trying to devise a plan to save the faun. Couldn't we have have some stratagem? said Peter. "I mean couldn't we dress up as something, or pretend to be--oh, pedlars or anything--or

4 watch till she (the witch) is gone out--or--o, hang it all, there must be some way... "It's no good, Son of Adam," said Mr. Beaver, "no good your trying, of all people. But now that Aslan is on the move--"''' "Who is Aslan?" asked Susan. "Aslan?" said Mr. Beaver," Why don't you know? He's the King. He's the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand."... 'Will he save Mr. Tumnus? She won't turn him into stone too?' (she means Aslan). "Lord love you, Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!" answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. "Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it'll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He'll put all to rights as it says in an old rhyme... Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again..." "Is he a man?' asked Lucy. "Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh!" said Susan, I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe?... "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? "Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." Aslan, the lion.

5 Lewis finds his image in Genesis where Jacob, nearing his death, blesses his 12 sons. Jacob calls his son Judah a lion: 9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. A lion. A symbol of great strength and power. This 'lion' will descend from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...and Jacob's son, Judah. John's vision in Revelation confirms what is written in the first book of the Bible--that the king, The Great King, sovereign over the world,\ will be like a lion and the nations will be obedient to him alone. It is yet in the future. He is called the Root of David. Isaiah 11 says (Isa 11:1-2): A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- Jesus is descended from David's father, Jesse, and they are descended from Abraham. Abraham is the 'planted tree' and from him will come a

6 'branch." It is interesting that Jesus is call the beginning and the end. He is the root and he is the branch--both. He has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and power. From him comes fruit, or great good. And this One in Revelation is called the Lamb. After 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God prepares to rescue the Israelites. Moses had pleaded with Pharaoh to let the people go but he refused over and over, no matter how much trouble there was from his refusal. Finally God tells them to pack up, and get ready to leave. Put on traveling clothes, pack the carts and donkeys. Kill a lamb, roast it and eat it standing up, ready to run. They are to take the blood of the lamb and smear it on the top and sides of the door posts of their houses and when the angel of death comes it will 'pass over' them. Where there is no blood, the oldest son will die. It is a terrible moment for Egypt and for Israel. The families kill a lamb and gather enough people to their homes so that none of the food is wasted. I can imagine mothers cowering in a corner holding onto their sons and where the families have been obedient, the son lives but in the Egyptian homes or wherever there had been terrible resistance to God's rule and authority, there was death with great mourning. In the daylight, the Israelites left. Ever after and to this day, in the spring, the Jews celebrate Passover. It was the day that God delivered his people from bondage and made them into a nation.[2] John says, In John 1, that he saw Jesus come and proclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'. We know that Jesus died at Passover, as the passover Lamb a symbol of saving grace. The ministry and mission of Jesus disclosed something not understood before--that the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One of the Old Testament had a two fold role to fulfill. First he must come in humility and meekness to suffer and die; then at the end of the age he must return in power and glory. The reigning King must be first a crucified Savior. It is a great mystery. John beautifully pictures this by his vision of the Lion who is the slain Lamb. Ordinary Christian thinking is that we are concerned with the cross

7 as the place where Jesus bore our sins. That is true. John's emphasis is that only by Jesus' sacrifice as the Lamb of God can he be the messianic King and bring human history to its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God. That's pretty thick theology. The Lamb had 7 horns--a symbol of great and complete power. Seven eyes are the symbols of the Holy Spirit who had been on the earth from creation (Gen. 1) and was poured out on believers at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is present and active here, now, in this place, who sees all and gives us wisdom and understanding as we struggle with this Scripture and in our daily lives. ` Now let's look at the scene in heaven at the throne of God. God the Father is holding a scroll with writing on both sides. This would have been very unusual. A scroll was formed by writing on small pieces of leather or velum, glued together into a long piece that was rolled up on a stick. Writing was usually on one side. That the writing in this case in on two sides implies completeness--the scroll is 'full.' It is sealed with 7 seals. Completely sealed and its contents hidden from human eyes. I suspect that this scroll contains knowledge of God that has been unknown until now, knowledge concerning the Kingdom of God. Christ alone has the keys to human history and its meaning. The scroll rests in the hand of him who was seated upon the throne. The whole story of human history rests in the hand of God. God: sovereign over all that happens, no matter how strong evil becomes, history still rests in God's hand. The heavenly beings mourn that they don't know who can open the scroll but it becomes clear that Jesus, and only Jesus can open it where upon they bow in adoration and praise. 9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God

8 from every tribe and language and people and nation. our God, 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve and they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14 The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. I suppose we have to wonder what difference this makes. So the angels in heaven are singing but ISIS is vicious and violent, the president doesn't know what to do in the Middle East, my kids are crazy, babies are being born and day by day we have to cook dinner, take the garbage to the dump and pay the bills. What difference does Rev. 5 make? I was thinking about a picture of Jesus' face I once saw. It was composed of hundreds and hundreds of tiny pictures of faces all glued onto a canvas that became a beautiful image of Christ. Every individual face

9 made a difference. And in the cosmic proportions of eternity, every one of you makes a difference. You were planned for, God knew you David wrote in Psalm 139: 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Jesus died for your sins and made you a child of his to make a difference in the world--part of his plan. His Spirit is present in your heart, giving you power to live as a witness to his love and grace. This big picture we have looked at narrows down to a pin point in Big Bay where you sit, where you live, where strive to serve him. Ps 138:6-8 6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

10 you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. 8 The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands. He will not forget you or abandon you. He is your Savior. He is strong enough for your every need. He will fulfill his purposes for you and in you because of his great love. Lift up your heads. Look for his coming. Meanwhile serve him faithfully. [1]The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis Lewis used the image of his own wardrobe, hand carved by his grandfather and housed now at Wheaton College. [2]Ladd, a Commentary on Revelation. I am indepted to Ladd for his rich insight. cr