Often, when we think of Jesus, one of the images that come to mind is the lamb. When John the Baptist was about two baptized, Jesus, he declared Him the “lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). When we think of a lamb, we think of tenderness, gentleness, and even submissiveness.
Well, Jesus was all these things, there is another description of Jesus in scripture that is the complete opposite of Him as a lamb. There are 4 reasons we should know Jesus as the Lion of Judah.
There are 2 places in the Bible the lion and Judah are Judah are tired together. One is Revelation 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.”
There is a significance of the tribe of Judah. Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. I’ll try to make it simple, the descendants of these sons formed the 12 tribes of Israel. A reference to the tribe of Judah is a reference to the human or natural lineage of Jesus. That genealogy is in Matthew 1.
Jesus is a descendent of Judah, which also included David, Solomon, and eventually making its way all the way down to Joseph, Jesus‘s earthly father (Jesus’s stepfather)
The other mention of the lion of Judah is in Genesis 49. Where Jacob called his son together and tells them what will happen to each of them in the days to come. Clearly, Jacob is speaking with prophetic language. When he gets to his son Judah, here is what he proclaims.
“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. You are a lions cub, Judah, you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouched and lies down, like a lioness -who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, not the ruler’s staff from, between his feet, until he to whom belongs shall come and the obedient of nations shall be His. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.His eyes will be darker than wine, a his teeth whiter than milk” – Genesis 49: 8-12
When you consider these verses, then the reference of the lion of the tribe of Judah points to the conquering, victorious King, that would descend from Judah’s lineage. We know that this lion was pointing to only one person, Jesus Himself,  God in human form, who is the lion of the tribe of Judah. This truth is important because it fulfills the promise and prophecy of God‘s Word. It also gives us hope and confidence in this one who will ultimately be our deliverer.
The proclamation made by Jacob in Genesis 49, our prophetic truths that will come to light. From these verses, we can uncover four reasons to know God as a Lion of Judah.
- “Your brothers will praise you -you acknowledge the Lion of Judah’s Lordship.”
“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord, to the glory of the Father” -Philippians 2:11
Regardless of what people think or feel about Jesus, one thing we know for sure is He is Lord. Because He is Lord, everyone will eventually praise Him as Lord. it doesn’t matter if a person believes that now, but at some point, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess this to be true. When you recognize this now, you will willingly bow and acknowledge Him as Lord of all, and most importantly Lord of your life.
2. “Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies – you acknowledge for Lion of Judas victory.”
“Then the end will come, when He hands over His kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He had put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For He had put everything under His feet” -1 Corinthians 15:24-26
Alternately Jesus will destroy our enemies, even Satan who knows he is on borrow time because his defeat is imminent. Satan is the greatest enemy we face as humans in the reality of sin and death. our sin interrupted our relationship with God and our death meant for eternal separation and punishment for our sins. Jesus conquered both of these enemies for us at the cross. Jesus as the Lion has given us victory over sin and has removed the penalty of death and replaced it with promise and hope of eternal life. We can celebrate that we are no longer the penalty of sin.
3. “The scepter will not depart from Judah -you acknowledge the Lions eternal rule.
“The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of Hid Messiah. He will reign forever and ever” -Revelation 11:15
The good part about being on the Lord’s side is that we will win in the end, regardless of how how challenging life gets, and regardless of the struggles or persecution, we make experience in this life.
It is so important to recognize that as long as we are on Jesus’s side, we will win in the end. Because He will rule for our eternity, and we can be part of His kingdom. then we will get to experience the benefits of His kingdom for all eternity.
So no matter how bad it may feel or get, it is only for a little while, our lion is coming soon and He will reign forever.
4. “He will wash His garments in Wine, His robe in the blood of grapes -you acknowledge His shed blood for the forgiveness of your sins.”
“Knowing that you were redeemed not with corruptible things, with silver and gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Messiah” -1 Peter 1:18-19
As important as it to know, Jesus as the Lion, that wouldn’t have mattered much unless he became the lamb. He would still be God. He would still rain forever. He was still ultimately trying over His enemies. However, we would still be lost. What makes Jesus all more impressive is that His road to conquering -His road to being the Lion came through suffering. He didn’t redeem us by keeping Hid status as a Lion. He redeemed us by becoming humble as a Lamb. That precious blood He spilled purchased our salvation, for gave our sins, and allowed us to triumph.
I am thankful that He is the Lion who fights for us and will come to our rescue. I am also thankful that He became like a lamb to win back our salvation. It was His suffering as a lamb that paid the way for Him to be the true “Lion of the tribe of Judah.
From Pity to Praise 