Hymns: Lion and the Lamb

In this series, I explore some modern songs as an old guy – with one foot in the grave and one foot on a banana skin 😀. I remember David Pawson making that joke when I saw him at St. Marks, Kennington, London back in 1982. He was only 52 then. And I’m 10 years older now 😀.

I committed my life to Christ when I was 18, back in 1980. Back then, churches sang a mix of old hymns and newer charismatic choruses. I enjoyed both. As time went on, I got to like the older hymns more. But around 10 years ago, I started listening to 1990s worship music. And since then, I’m catching up with the 21st Century music. I see many YouTube videos criticizing it, and the movements that give rise to it. But I just like to focus on the songs themselves. And nowadays, I play them all regularly at home on my guitar and keyboard.
So, today’s song is Lion and the Lamb from 2016.

You can view the lyrics in the second video and at the bethelmusic.com site. It is lyrically very rich. The one thing that I would change is that I would replace “our God” with “our Lord”. Although Jesus is God and is called God in places in the New Testament, He is more commonly referred to as Lord and the Father is more commonly referred to as God. Here are some examples:

John 20:17
Jesus says: “I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

Romans 1:7
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 8:6
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

There is one God, and all three members of the trinity are called God and have his attributes. But much of the New Testament depicts Jesus as our Lord, our king who is both man and God and serves as the mediator between God and humanity. Thomas did refer to Jesus as “my Lord and my God” and Jesus accepted his worship. So it’s not heretical to call Jesus God, but He’s generally called Lord in the New Testament. We can think of him as the leader of humanity (though He existed as God the Son for eternity before He became human.).

Many modern songs emphasize worship of Jesus, and perhaps the Holy Spirit, so much that the Father is put out of the picture. I like the New Testament emphasis to be reflected in hymns. I appreciate that it can be tricky trying to get the balance right. Broadly speaking, Lion and the Lamb does a great job at portraying Jesus as He is depicted in the New Testament. And I’m very happy to sing the song. The following passage is touched on in the hymn:

Phil 2:5-11
⁵ Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We think of the lion and lamb as opposites, but both terms are used of Jesus.

Lamb

John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. Listeners would have known that lambs were sacrificed throughout the Old Testament era. All of this pointed forward towards the sacrifice of the Son of God. No other sacrifice could take away sin. What did John mean by “the world”? Well, it meant that it wasn’t just the Jews that would benefit. The cross was for the whole world. But it’s also emphasized that we need to repent and believe to gain the benefits.

Think of the following illustration. I hope that it doesn’t sound silly, but I find it helpful. Let’s say U2 are on their final tour and they decide to play a free concert for the people of Limerick (where I currently live). Who gets to see them? Surely it’s only those who choose to. And let’s say that Bono says that “everyone who wants to see us can come”. They will do a series of concerts if necessary. So then, they come and play. And history records that U2 played for the people of Limerick. But let’s say that only 500 people choose to ask for tickets. Did U2 play for 500 people or did U2 play for Limerick? Surely both are true. The key thing is you need to repent and believe to avail of the offer of salvation. It’s often said that Jesus’ death is sufficient for all but efficient for some.

Here are some verses that speak of Jesus as the lamb:

Isaiah 53:7 (Old Testament prophecy)
He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.

1 Cor 5:7
For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

1 Peter 1:18-20
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 

Revelation 5:20
¹² In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

Lion

There’s only a couple of references to Jesus as a lion. It speaks of strength and kingship.

An early prophecy spoke of the lion who would emerge from Judah, who would have the obedience of the nations.

Genesis 49:9–10
You are a lion’s cub, 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 to whom it belongs shall come
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

The last book of the Bible applies this to Jesus. Currently, He reigns in the hearts of many throughout the nations. But a time will come when he will rule in every way.

Revelation 5:5
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.”

Many other images depict Christ as reigning.

Rev 19:11-16
¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.

Here are a couple of hymns about Jesus as a lion: