The Losing Lamb
Read Time: 8 mins and 16 seconds
From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?”
Matthew 16:21-26 NET
Picture the scene with me. In Revelation 4 and 5, John is transported in vision to the throne room of God. After seeing glorious displays of worship and honor and God seated on His throne, John notices a scroll in His right hand. While the right hand typically represents power and control, scrolls from God typically contain His mission and message. And it is said that this scroll is full on both sides, symbolizing its completeness, but it’s sealed, and no one is worthy to open it.
A powerful angel is seen asking who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals, but the text tells us that nobody on earth, in heaven, or under the earth was capable of accomplishing this feat. This may not seem like a big deal, but throughout the Bible, kings were given a scroll of the testimony of God during their coronation. This symbolically refers to that event.
What we're basically seeing is the reality that no one was worthy to reign and rule. Israel and humanity as a whole had been crying out for a Savior. They wanted a better Moses to lead them out of spiritual slavery. They wanted a better David to reign as a conquering king. The universe had been begging for a warrior king to win for them; however, every leader that was platformed seemed to fail. No one was good enough to fulfill this role.
As John hears this, he begins to weep bitterly. But as he is crying, an elder speaks up and tells him to dry his eyes. Why? Because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered, and He is worthy to receive and open the scroll as He is crowned as king. Isn't this good news? I can imagine John expecting a strapping warrior like David, holding the head of their enemies. I imagine the people expecting an attractive and powerful conqueror who would lead them into battle. Someone with a nickname like “The Lion from the Tribe of Judah” who would remind us of people like David, Moses, and Elijah must certainly possess the look of a champion. However, instead of a strapping lion, John sees a slaughtered lamb.
The Bible says the lamb looks like it has been killed. I can imagine a gash in its neck as blood and chunks of flesh are matted throughout its fur. I can imagine this Lamb that looks more like a zombie than something you’d find in a zoo limping into the throne room. This lamb doesn’t look like a conqueror; it looks like it’s been conquered, but I can imagine this precious, puny, pathetic-looking lamb, standing proud, princely, and pre-eminent as it makes its presence known.
This pulverized and pummeled sacrifice was really the prevailing Prince of Peace. The lamb was the lion, and all of heaven recognizes His identity as they sing a new song…
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were killed, and at the cost of your own blood you have purchased for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation. You have appointed them as a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
After this, hundreds of thousands joined in and began to sing,
“Worthy is the lamb who was killed to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise!”
If that wasn’t enough to paint the picture of everything and everyone recognizing His identity, John says, Then I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power forever and ever!”
The entire universe seems to recognize that this is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. This is the sacrifice that the atoning Passover lamb would point to. This is the conquering king. This is the Christ. This is the Messiah. This is Jesus. Not coming as a ruthless winner, but as someone who wins through what appears to be losing. The Son saves through sacrifice, but this is what many of us fail to grasp.
My fear is that many of us are failing to recognize the identity of our Savior with the nations. We desire a conquering king. We await a winsome warrior. But because we don’t expect Him to win by losing, we aren’t recognizing Him when He appears as a wounded lamb. Worse yet, many of us are rebuking Him.
Peter had this same issue. In our text, Jesus unveils His will like one unravels a scroll. He begins to let the disciples in on the plan that will turn the world around. He describes how He will be betrayed and suffer at the hands of the religious leaders. The very people who should be fighting for Him will go against Him. The very government He should overthrow will seemingly unite with the church He erected to overthrow Him. Instead of starting a war and winning, He would willingly lose and give up His life for His enemies. Sounds weak, right?
Now, this passage comes right after Jesus asks Peter who he sees Jesus as, and Peter says that Jesus is the awaited Christ, the Son of God. Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah who would save them. He knew Jesus’ mission but had issues with the method.
The Jews were in the midst of persecution at the hands of the Romans. They had already been in exile with the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians. They had experienced wilderness wards and Egyptian slavery. They had already gone through what they would call an oppressive hell, and patiently waited for a Messiah who would overthrow their oppressors. This was the expectation, so when Jesus starts talking about dying, Peter thinks He is abandoning the plan. And can you blame him? What do you mean we’re going to go through more persecution, pain, and problems?
Peter was so set on how He expected God to perform that he rebuked Him when His plan looked different. He was so desirous of a Savior that he actually tried to stop his salvation. He didn’t get it, and we don’t always get it either. We often find ourselves in the same boat. While many of us agree with the mission of God, we often question His methods. Like the ancient Israelites, we desire the promised land but turn up our noses at the path to get there. We often long for the win but despise the wilderness. What I’m trying to say is that many of us desire and long for what God is doing, but don’t appreciate how He gets it done. The issue is that we can often reject, resist, and rebuke the will of God because His methods don't fit our expectations or desires. Could it be that God wants you to also win by taking a loss?
The good news is that as Peter rebukes Jesus, Jesus rebukes Peter. God doesn't let someone's misunderstanding or even going against Him stop Him from helping them. While the rebuke of Jesus may seem harsh, it’s actually for our good. Jesus responds by calling Peter satan and tells him to get out of His way. Jesus responds in a similar fashion as He did when He was tempted in the wilderness. He recognized that this, too, was a temptation for Him to step out of the salvific plan He had set out to accomplish. Jesus isn’t calling Peter the literal satan, but He is responding to the deception Peter is unknowingly espousing and pushing for. But because Peter was deceived into thinking the Messiah would win as a warring leader and not a wounded lamb, he starts trying to stop Jesus from doing the very thing that would save him.
Let me be clear. Jesus is a winner, but His ways look to most like a loss. Jesus goes on to say that whoever wants to follow Him must follow the same path and also take up his own cross. Remember, this is before the resurrection and the modern Christian church. Crosses weren’t a symbol of Christ; they were a symbol of criminals. When Jesus was saying we need to take up our cross, He was saying that we win by becoming the least. We win by willingly becoming hated, thrown out, and abandoned. We win by losing. We live by dying. It sounds backwards, but Jesus says that whoever saves his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for His sake will find it.
How many of us have rebuked Jesus because His method of salvation wasn’t what we’d expect from a lion? How many of us have pushed back on salvation because surrender looks weak? How many of us have denied the gift of eternal life because we’re afraid of temporary death? What about the death of your desires, sinful nature, and desire to win? What modern idols, mindsets, comforts, and sins are you holding on to when losing them would open the door to your win?
So many of us only want Jesus so that He will help us succeed on earth. We want Him to help us with finances, health, relationships, and career,s and He wants to help us in those areas too, but that’s not what this is all about. Sometimes, you will lose. If you’re really following the lamb, it’s a given. You have to die to some things daily.
Jesus ends this discourse by saying it’s not worth it to gain the world and lose your soul. There are some things you will miss out on here. There are some arguments you could win, but God will tell you to lose. There are things you could have that God will tell you to give. There are some positions you will want to dominate in, but God will call you to submit. There are some things that culture and society will see as a win that God is saying aren’t a part of His plan. Will you trust God's methods and surrender, or keep trying to superimpose your own will? The conquering lion wins by taking the lowly position many would see as a conquered lamb. Will you take up your cross and follow Him?
Questions to Consider (Leave your answers in the comments):
How do you expect God to move in your life, and how do you react when He does something different?
Do you think losing on earth is worth it if it means winning in heaven?
What is the Spirit asking you to give up and die to?
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