Thinking about the Kingdom of the Unexpected

Spontaneous Ponderings

I’ve been thinking about our pastor’s sermon last week on Revelation 5 (probably a few weeks ago by the time this is published). He made the point that the imagery for Jesus is a bit of a contrast here. First, They call him the Lion of Judah:

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.”

But when Jesus actually appears, he is seen as a lamb who has been slain:

Revelation 5:6-7: ⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. ⁷ He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

How can the same person be both a lion and a lamb? Aren’t those the opposite? One is strong and mighty, a great predator. The other is small and weak, the easiest of prey. Yet Jesus is both. And it got me thinking—Isn’t that just like Jesus? When he was on earth, he was always doing the unexpected. He taught people how to think about life and the kingdom of God in a different way. Here are a few examples: