The Cross of the Lamb and the Throne of the Lion
December 2nd, 2015
In his book, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, the late Dr. Harold W. Hoehner presents evidence that Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday, April 3rd, AD 33. 1 On that day several individuals, whose lives would have otherwise faded into obscurity, became infamous participants in the most notorious crime in history.
To be sure, some of them knew they were committing a heinous act of injustice (in particular, the Jewish religious leaders who sentenced Jesus to death). But it is doubtful that any of them fully understood what was happening. To them, the Crucifixion was simply the “good riddance” of One Who had robbed them of the peoples’ admiration and threatened to disrupt the rituals of their religion. But in reality, Golgotha was the pivot point of history: a day when the justice of God intersected with the mercy of God … a day when capital punishment for our moral crimes was executed – mercifully – upon a sinless Substitute.
On that hill those who had arranged for Christ to die stood in front of His Cross to gawk at His agony and shame: His shredded skin hanging loose from His back and sides, dripping with blood … His battered face bruised and bleeding from pounding fists … His lips cut open … His eyes swollen shut … His exposed body shivering in the cold of the morning hours … pushing His weight down on the spike driven through His feet to raise His chest for a gasp of breath … and using that breath to ask the Father to forgive the nail-drivers for what they had just done.
[We do well to picture this scene in our minds. Was it not for you and me that Jesus Christ endured this wrath from God so that we – through faith in His Payment for our moral crimes – would not have to?]
Faithful Savior, eternity is not long enough to thank You for what You did for us.
And so, they stood before Him as He hung on the Cross. They watched Him suffer; and then they watched Him die. But this would not be the last time they would stand before Him, for His Cross and tomb marked the end of the Son of God’s humiliation and the renewal of His glory. There is coming a day when those who stood before the Cross, pointing at the nail-impaled Sacrifice of God and yelling,
“You do not have the right to live,”
will bow before the King of glory and declare,
“You Alone have the right to rule.”
That will be a day very different than the morning of Friday, April 3rd, AD 33. Those who once stood before the humiliated Lamb of God will find themselves in the presence of the exalted Lion of Judah: His exposed body now clothed with a radiant robe … a crown of thorns replaced by diadems of glory … and a cross that offered God’s mercy replaced by a throne now demanding God’s justice. Before Him, they will not stand; they will bow. And their tongues will not mock; they will confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:11)
Indeed, the day is coming when every one of us will acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, something the true and living Church is already doing. But when we do, what exactly are we saying? Perhaps we put this title “Lord” in front of His Name so frequently – and so easily – that we have forgotten the weight of the word. We would do well to become reacquainted with the commitment we are making when we acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.
To say that “Jesus is Lord” is to say that “Jesus has the right to rule.”
- He has the right to rule creation.
- He has the right to rule the nations.
- He has the right to rule His Church.
- And He has the right to rule our individual lives.
When we declare His Lordship, we are not giving Christ the right to rule over us. He already has that right. We are acknowledging a reality already established by the Father.
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18)
To say “Jesus is Lord” is easy … so easy, in fact, that even unbelievers can – and often do – declare it. Yet, Jesus states that one’s confession of His Lordship is to go far beyond mere words. Indeed, He strictly warns against paying mere lip service to His authority.
Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
How then does one sincerely acknowledge the reality of Christ’s Lordship?
by striving to do the will of the Master
Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46)
Obedience is what separates the sheep from the goats. Yes, it is true: our humanity is frail. But it is also true that God is not frail. And dwelling within every reborn saint is the Spirit of almighty God. God has the power to obey God; and He expects His children to trust Him … to provide the power we need … to obey His will. And so, with our words and with our lives, let this Truth be our whole-hearted confession:
Jesus Christ is my Lord
No Hebrew name reveals the Lordship of Christ better than the Name Adonai. This is the subject of chapter 7 in The God of Our Lives: “Adonai, Our God is a Loving Master.”
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To the readers within the believing community: I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.
1 Hoehner, Harold W., Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1977, page 114.
