Lamb or Lion

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." - John 1:29. 


There are two very distinct pictures of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible. One is the Lamb of God. We associate a lamb with gentleness, purity, and innocence. In the Jewish tradition, the unblemished lamb was the only offering Jehovah God would accept for the atonement of the people. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus, he cried out "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John. 1:29). Immediately, the Jews understood that this Man represented the innocent for the guilty, an acceptable offering to atone for a sinful generation. And today, when we come to Jesus Christ, and receive Him as the Lamb of God, His shed blood cleanses us from all sin, and makes us holy and righteous before our heavenly Father, "knowing that you were...redeemed with...the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot". - (I Pet. 1:18,19).


But there is another picture of Jesus in Scripture. It is the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Friend, you don't want to meet the Lion. A lion is for judgment.  A lion devours its prey. A lion is king of the jungle!


The decisions we make today will determine whether we know Jesus as the Lamb of God who forgives us and prepares a place for us with Him in eternity...OR the Lion of Judah who will judge us, separate us from His presence of love, light and blessings, and cast us into outer darkness...forever.


"And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-15). "But there shall by no means enter it [the City of God] anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" - (Rev. 21:27).


Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior, and do you know that the Lamb has written your name in the Book of Life? Then, may your picture, for eternity, be taken with the Lamb...and not the Lion.