Over Lent we’ve invited a number of people from our community to share their response to to the question “Who do you say I am?”
In today’s reflection Ian shares his own thoughts using the images of my Lamb, my Lion and my Shepherd.
Jesus Christ: My Lamb, my Lion and my Shepherd
For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ Revelation 7:17 (NIV)
Introduction
You may be familiar with a Bible passage that mentions a lamb, a lion or a shepherd. Perhaps you recall the Passover lamb sacrificed as the enslaved Hebrew people prepared to leave Egypt, or the story of Daniel in the den of lions, or the psalm “The Lord is my Shepherd”. There is even a passage containing a mention of all three, when David the shepherd boy describes rescuing sheep from lions.
In responding to the question Jesus poses “Who do you say I am?”, one approach I find meaningful is to consider His attributes as my Lamb, my Lion and my Shepherd.
My Lamb
Just like the first Passover lamb, Jesus is the sacrifice for God’s people as the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” He died on the cross in our place and by His blood we are cleansed of all our sin if we follow Him.
My Lion
Jesus is our “Lion of Judah”. He is the conqueror of death, the Mighty Saviour and has authority over all creation past, present and future. Just as the wise men did when He was a very young child, we worship him as Messiah and King of Heaven.
My Shepherd
In His own words, Jesus tells us that He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Jesus also is a constant present who tends us, guides us through life and brings us to the shelter of God’s presence. He leads us home.
Reflection
Extract from “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C. S. Lewis:
But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagles’ eyes they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.
…
“Please Lamb,” said Lucy, “is this the way to Aslan’s country?”
“Not for you,” said the Lamb. “For you the door into Aslan’s country is from your own world.”
“What!” said Edmund. “Is there a way into Aslan’s country from our world too?”
“There is a way into my country from all the worlds,” said the Lamb; but as he spoke, his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his [lion’s] mane.
[Ian Bartholomew, 1 March 2019]