This post is written by Matt Rogers as a companion for Unit 36, Session 1 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 12: From This World to the World to Come (Summer 2024).
Movies and books spend a great deal of time attempting to round out a character. Directors and authors know that one-dimensional characters do not capture the affection of the audience. You have to know more about a person and have a sense of what makes them tick before you can really appreciate the plot of a good story.
God is the main character of the Bible. More specifically, the Bible tells the story of the Trinitarian God’s purposes and plans to save sinners and fix the world through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We have dozens of books, hundreds of stories, that introduce the reader to who Jesus is and what He is doing in the world. The Old Testament looks forward to Jesus. Much of the New Testament speaks of Jesus during His life. And later New Testament books point to what Jesus is doing now and will be doing in the future. Through all of this, readers are given a fuller understanding of the Savior.
There are certain sections of the Bible that capture key aspects of who Jesus is in a relatively small number of verses. For example, Revelation 4 and 5 tell readers that Jesus is a King, a Lion, and a Lamb. None of these descriptions are new. They are built on the foundation of the Old Testament, where the promise of Jesus is spoken of using many of these terms. Jesus Himself and His disciples also used these ideas to describe who Jesus is and what He came to do.
As a king, Jesus is the One who will rule and reign on David’s throne and establish a new kingdom composed of those He saved. As a lion, Jesus conquered Satan, sin, and death through His victorious resurrection and will surely protect His people until they too rise again. As a lamb, Jesus laid His life down so that His blood could pay the price for the sins of His people. He’s all that and more.
What’s interesting is the sheer scope of these terms. It’s unheard of to talk about someone as a King and a Lion and a Lamb. These terms seem mutually exclusive. After all, it’s hard to think of two animals that are more different than a lion and a lamb. The multi-dimensional nature of Jesus’s character causes us to worship Him all the more. He’s no mere human, He’s the true God who is worthy of worship. Like John, we are able to see a vision of the resurrected Jesus when we read John’s words, and each time we see Jesus for who He is should cause our hearts to love Him more.
Matt Rogers is the pastor of Christ Fellowship Cherrydale in Greenville, South Carolina. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children: Corrie, Avery, Hudson, Willa, and Fuller. Matt is also an assistant professor of church planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the church development coordinator with the Pillar Network, and a freelance author.
