Jesus: Lion and Lamb
“For he who cultivates only one precept of the Gospel to the exclusion of the rest, in reality attends to no part at all.” – Saint John Henry Newman
I’ve been reflecting lately on the seemingly contradictory images of Jesus as the lion (e.g. Revelation 5:5) and the lamb (John 1:29). A lion is fierce, strong, courageous, scary. He is the king of all animals, deserving of complete reverence and submission. A lion’s mere presence places everyone around on high alert. A lamb, on the other hand, is meek, gentle, inviting. No one seriously fears a lamb. The lamb’s presence demands neither respect nor submission; it is by most measures a submissive animal. So how can Jesus be both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God?
Jesus the lion: Just as a lion by his mere presence demands a response, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection demands some sort of response from us. We see this play out frequently in Jesus’ earthly life. When Jesus entered a city, the crowds flocked to him and bowed at his feet, hoping to be healed by merely touching his cloak; Jesus’ invitation led ordinary fishermen to drop everything to follow him; the Pharisees, feeling their own authority threatened, mocked and tested him on many occasions; Herod ordered thousands of newborn babies to be killed in the hope that the baby Jesus too would be slain. At bottom, one simply can’t remain indifferent to Jesus.
Like a lion, Jesus entered the world in power, though Jesus’ power is radically different than the power we’re accustomed to seeing in this world. He did not come to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45). Instead of exalting himself—which he, as God, would be more than entitled to do—he humbled himself so that we might walk the path of salvation through him. Instead of seeking his own comfort, Jesus comforted the afflicted. And he, like a good king who plans a magnificent banquet for his loyal servants, promised the most magnificent banquet to those who believed in his kind of radical power: eternal bliss with him.
Jesus courageously proclaimed the truth about human nature, sin, and repentance—without compromise. He radically altered the way people think about social relations, power, wealth, and prestige. He exalted the poor and those on the peripheries, and he warned everyone else that they will be judged by how they treat the least of their brothers and sisters. In short, Jesus’ entrance into the world forever changed the course of human history.
Jesus the lamb: Jesus the lion became Jesus the lamb by entering the world and suffering a gruesome and sacrificial death for our sake. Jesus did not enter the world to mingle with celebrities or the ruling class. He came first and foremost to save the lost, to restore the dignity to sinners that had been lost through original, generational, and personal sin. He came for those who had been overlooked, even discarded, by the wealthy and powerful. Although he ultimately called all to repentance and conversion, he often led with a gentle encounter that allowed others to let down their walls and ultimately to surrender.
We also know that Jesus suffered and died in the most humiliating of ways; he was beaten, he was mocked, he was scorned, and he was hung on a cross for all to see. This publicly humiliating death was a fate reserved, at least according to Roman culture at the time, for the worst of the worst—robbers, murderers, political insurrectionists. Yet we know that Jesus was not deserving of the death that he suffered, for he lived a sinless life wholly in accord with his Father’s perfect will.
Jesus was killed not for any crime he committed but for his radical message of love and mercy, a message that defied the religious, societal, and political norms—thus the authorities—of the time. Despite his innocence, Jesus submitted to his executioners, willingly paying the price for the debt of sinners, for us. So, like the unblemished lambs that were sacrificed by the Jewish people on Passover, Jesus, the unblemished lamb, gave his life so that we could become adopted sons and daughters of God.
What do we make of this seemingly contradictory imagery?
Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is both fully human and fully divine. He came to dwell in our sinful world and to face the same temptations and struggles that we face, so that we might know him, come to love him, and then live like him—so that we can ultimately return to him for eternity. If it was not difficult for Jesus to be both God and man without contradicting himself, it is surely not difficult for him to be both a lion and a lamb. Indeed, it is his perfection that allows both images to coexist as the ideal—that which we must actively strive to become.
Practically speaking, this imagery means that following Jesus requires us to be more than one-dimensional. Jesus’ tender side (the lamb) speaks to our Father’s kindness, mercy, and care for all His creatures—particularly the poor and downtrodden. So we too must be kind, merciful, and caring. And Jesus’ fiery side (the lion) speaks to his Lordship and our need to repent of our sinful ways and to enter into a life of continual conversion—a life that gradually conforms to the perfect way of Jesus.
This is a very difficult balancing act and one that I myself struggle to live. But the bottom line is that we are called to be more than we are right now. We are called to live like Jesus—to cultivate all parts of the Gospel. Thankfully, our God is patient, kind, and merciful, even when we are not.
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Pax Christi,
Ben