The Lamb in Victory and Majesty

. . . in the midst of the throne . . . stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, . . . Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

REVELATION 5:6 11–12

There are two more glimpses of Mary’s little Lamb I want to show you. The first one is the Lamb in victory. In Revelation chapter 5, the apostle John had a glimpse into glory. He saw the throne of God, and then he noticed, in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, a book sealed with seven seals. This seven-sealed book is the title deed to the earth, the heavens, and the netherworld. It represents the right to rule. 

John saw that there was no one who could break the seals and open the book, and because of this he began to weep. One of the elders, however, said to him, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” (v. 5). Now when John looked, he saw not a lion but a lamb (v. 6). The word used here for lamb is a special word, for it literally means “little lamb,” that is, a pet lamb. This is Mary’s little Lamb. What an amazing picture of the glorified Jesus! 

John also saw a slain Lamb (v. 6), bearing the marks of the nails with which He was crucified. He will bear these marks forever. When we go to heaven, we will see those nail prints in His hands. Jesus is not only a small Lamb and a slain Lamb, He is also a standing Lamb (v. 6). He laid down in death in a grave, but the grave could not hold Him. He stood up in resurrection, and He is standing in heaven today, making intercession for us. 

This Lamb is also strong. He has “seven horns.” In the Bible, horns are emblematic of power. This Lamb is omnipotent. He is also a searching Lamb, having “seven eyes” that speak of omniscience. And then Jesus is the sovereign Lamb. Verse 7 says that He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. He alone is worthy to open it. This is the Lamb in victory. The second glimpse I want to show you is of the Lamb in majesty (Revelation 5:8-14). 

The song of the glorious heavenly beings is offered to Mary’s little Lamb. Join me this Christmas season in saying with the heavenly hosts, “Worthy is the Lamb—exclusively, exceedingly, eternally worthy!”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Christmas Is for Freedom

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

Jesus became man because what was needed was the death of a man who was more than man. The incarnation was God’s locking himself into death row.

Christ did not risk death. He chose death. He embraced it. That is precisely why he came: “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

No wonder Satan tried to turn Jesus from the cross — in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11) and in the mouth of Peter (Matthew 16:21–23)! The cross was Satan’s destruction. How did Jesus destroy him?

Hebrews 2:14 says that Satan has “the power of death.” That means Satan has the ability to make death fearful. “The power of death” is the power that holds men in bondage through fear of death. It is the power to keep men in sin so that death comes as a dreadful thing.

But Jesus stripped Satan of this power. He disarmed him. He molded a breastplate of righteousness for us that makes us immune to the devil’s condemnation. How did he do this?

By his death, Jesus wiped away all our sins. And a person without sin cannot be condemned by Satan. Forgiven, we are finally indestructible. Satan’s plan was to destroy God’s rule by condemning God’s followers in God’s own courtroom. But now, in Christ, there is no condemnation. Satan’s treason is aborted. His cosmic treachery is foiled. “His rage we can endure, for, lo, his doom is sure.” The cross has run him through. And he will gasp his last before long.

Christmas is for freedom. Freedom from the fear of death.

Jesus took our nature in Bethlehem, to die our death in Jerusalem — all that we might be fearless in our city today. Yes, fearless. Because if the biggest threat to my joy is gone, then why should I fret over the little ones? How can you say (really!), “Well, I’m not afraid to die but I’m afraid to lose my job”? No. No. Think!

If death (I said, death! — no pulse, cold, gone!) if death is no longer a fear, we’re free, really free. Free to take any risk under the sun for Christ and for love. No more enslavement to anxiety.

If the Son has set you free, you shall be free, indeed!

John Piper 

The Christmas Model for Missions

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18)

Christmas is a model for missions. Missions is a mirror of Christmas. As I, so you.

For example, danger. Christ came to his own and his own received him not. So you also. They plotted against him. So you. He had no permanent home. So you. They trumped up false charges against him. So you. They whipped and mocked him. So you. He died after three years of ministry. So you.

But there is a worse danger than any of these which Jesus escaped. So you!!

In the mid-16th century the missionary Francis Xavier (1506–1552), wrote to Father Perez of Malacca (today part of Malaysia) about the perils of his mission to China. He said,

The danger of all dangers would be to lose trust and confidence in the mercy of God. . . . To distrust him would be a far more terrible thing than any physical evil which all the enemies of God put together could inflict on us, for without God’s permission neither the devils nor their human ministers could hinder us in the slightest degree.

The greatest danger a missionary faces is not death but to distrust the mercy of God. If that danger is avoided, then all other dangers lose their sting.

In the end God makes every dagger a scepter in our hand. As J.W. Alexander says, “Each instant of present labor is to be graciously repaid with a million ages of glory.”

Christ escaped this danger — the danger of distrusting God. Therefore God has highly exalted him! As he, so you.

Remember this Advent that Christmas is a model for missions. As I, so you. And that mission means danger. And the greatest danger is distrusting God’s mercy. Succumb to this and all is lost. Conquer here and nothing can harm you for a million ages.

John Piper 

A Perfect Lamb

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”

LUKE 2:8–10

What a wonderful Savior we have in Mary’s Lamb, the Son of God born that first Christmas night! Jesus came as He did, born of a virgin, to be what He was—the sinless Lamb of God. He was what He was, sinless, to do what He did—die for our sins. And He died for our sins so that He, being what He was, might make us what we are not and ought to be— children of God. 

Remember those Passover lambs being raised in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth? Those were the lambs the shepherds kept watching over when the angel appeared to them announcing the birth of the Savior. Even though we are observing Christmas, the first week of Jesus’ earthly life, I want to “fast forward” to the last week of His life. 

On Palm Sunday, the Lord Jesus came down the Mount of Olives and ascended to the temple mount. At the very same time, the lambs for the upcoming Passover were brought in through the sheep gate. The priests examined those lambs to make certain they were perfect for sacrifice. At the same time, God’s Lamb was examined by His enemies. No charge whatsoever could be made against Jesus. Even Pilate had to confess, “I find no fault in Him” (John 19:4). 

Jesus was a perfect Lamb. Jesus went from the temple mount to the Last Supper and then out to dark Gethsemane. By nine o’clock the next morning, He was on His way to the cross. Then at three o’clock that afternoon, as the priests offered the Passover lambs in the temple, Mary’s Lamb was hanging on the cross. Suddenly He cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Our sin debt had been paid in full! Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Greatest Salvation Imaginable

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . ” (Jeremiah 31:31)

God is just and holy and separated from sinners like us. This is our main problem at Christmas — and every other season. How shall we get right with a just and holy God?

Nevertheless, God is merciful and has promised in Jeremiah 31 (five hundred years before Christ) that someday he would do something new. He would replace shadows with the Reality of the Messiah. And he would powerfully move into our lives and write his will on our hearts so that we are not constrained from outside, but are willing from inside, to love him and trust him and follow him.

That would be the greatest salvation imaginable — if God should offer us the greatest Reality in the universe to enjoy and then move in us to know that Reality in such a way that we could enjoy it with the greatest freedom and the greatest pleasure possible. That would be a Christmas gift worth singing about.

That is, in fact, what he promised in the new covenant. But there was a huge obstacle. Our sin. Our separation from God because of our unrighteousness.

How shall a holy and just God treat us sinners with so much kindness as to give us the greatest Reality in the universe (his Son) to enjoy with the greatest possible joy?

The answer is that God put our sins on his Son, and judged them there, so that he could put them out of his mind, and deal with us mercifully and remain just and holy at the same time. Hebrews 9:28 says Christ was “offered once to bear the sins of many.”

Christ bore our sins in his own body when he died (1 Peter 2:24). He took our judgment (Romans 8:3). He canceled our guilt (Romans 8:1). And that means our sins are gone (Acts 10:43). They do not remain in God’s mind as a basis for condemnation. In that sense, he “forgets” them (Jeremiah 31:34). They are consumed in the death of Christ.

Which means that God is now free, in his justice, to lavish us with all the unspeakably great new covenant promises. He gives us Christ, the greatest Reality in the universe, for our enjoyment. And he writes his own will — his own heart — on our hearts so that we can love Christ and trust Christ and follow Christ from the inside out, with freedom and joy.

John Piper 

A Special Lamb in History

. . . wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

MATTHEW 2:1–2

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” JOHN 1:29

Mary’s little Lamb was the Christ of Christmas. We have seen the Lamb in prophecy. Now let’s consider the Lamb in history. The lamb of Exodus 12 only foreshadowed Mary’s Lamb. But when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Lamb entered history. The wise men knew who He was. That’s why they came to worship Mary’s Lamb. 

John the Baptist also knew that the One born on Christmas was a special Lamb. Years later, at the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry, John saw Jesus coming and cried out, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). I want to say it again: Jesus was a special Lamb. He was the spotless, sinless, virgin-born Son of God. He was a miracle Lamb. Someone may say, “I believe the virgin birth is an impossibility.” Well, I do too if you leave God out of it. But I also believe that with God all things are possible. 

That little Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in Bethlehem’s manger, was and is the eternal, uncreated, self-existing God—the great I AM, the Word made flesh. The Infinite became an infant. God lay in a manger. We have seen from prophecy that Mary’s little Lamb was a special Lamb and a slain Lamb. We see that in history too. John the Baptist declared that Jesus would take away the sin of the world. John was speaking of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. This is why Jesus was born of a virgin. He had to be virgin born in order to be sinless. Why was He sinless? So He could make a blood atonement. 

The Bible says it is the blood that makes atonement for sin. A child’s bloodline is established by the father, not by the mother. None of the baby’s blood circulates through the mother’s body. Mary was Jesus’ earthly mother, but He had no earthly father. God was the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, so the blood that flowed through the veins of Mary’s Lamb was the very blood of God (Acts 20:28).

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God’s Most Successful Setback

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9–11)

Christmas marked the beginning of God’s most successful setback. He has always delighted to show his power through apparent defeat. He makes tactical retreats in order to win strategic victories.

In the Old Testament, Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, was promised glory and power in his dream (Genesis 37:5–11). But to achieve that victory he had to become a slave in Egypt. And, as if that were not enough, when his conditions improved because of his integrity, he was made worse than a slave: a prisoner.

But it was all planned. Planned by God for his good and the good of his family, and eventually for the good of the whole world! For there in prison he met Pharaoh’s butler, who eventually brought him to Pharaoh, who put him over Egypt. And finally, his dream came true. His brothers bowed before him, and he saved them from starvation. What an unlikely route to glory!

But that is God’s way — even for his Son. He emptied himself and took the form of a slave. Worse than a slave — a prisoner — and was executed. But like Joseph, he kept his integrity. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:9–10).

And this is God’s way for us too. We are promised glory — if we will suffer with him as it says in Romans 8:17. The way up is down. The way forward is backward. The way to success is through divinely appointed setbacks. They will always look and feel like failure.

But if Joseph and Jesus teach us anything this Christmas it is this: What Satan and sinful men meant for evil, “God meant it for good!” (Genesis 50:20).

You fearful saints fresh courage take

The clouds you so much dread

Are big with mercy and will break

In blessings on your head.

John Piper