Locating centre
Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. Rev 5:6 New Living Translation
Running up to Easter weekend I will publish four reflection on the cross of Christ. Most were written a few years ago. Here’s the first of the four.
For nearly 30 years I worked for the famous high street retailer Marks and Spencer. When I began my career in the 70’s, Marks and Spencer was held up as one of the most, if not the most, successful retailers in the country. From its humble beginnings as one of many market stalls in the city of Manchester in the late 19th century, their slogan ‘don’t ask the price it’s a penny’ had risen to become a popular household name. Their brand became synonymous with value, quality and service and its business practice was held up as an example for other businesses to follow. As I began my career, at the peak of the brand’s popularity and success, I recall being proudly told that our business was so successful, that town planners determined where the centre of a town was by the presence of a Marks and Spencer store. Locating the centre of the town shaped a myriad of decisions, not least how much other retailers paid for property and then the rates they paid to the council as a consequence. Being deemed the determining factor for locating the centre of a town was clearly an achievement, of which most who worked for the business were very proud. Being considered the centre point of a town or city is indeed a huge accolade.
Centre, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary means; ‘the middle part or point, the person or thing that everyone is most interested in and pays most attention to’, to be at the centre of the situation is; ‘to be the most involved in a situation’. Another dictionary describes the centre as ‘the pivot or axis of rotation’.
So, what has this got to do with the cross of Christ? What have Christ and His work got to do with Marks and Spencer - the answer of course is little, if anything at all. For most of us ordinary souls, the book of Revelation is possibly one of the hardest to fully understand in the whole of the cannon of scripture. Many an evangelical would make it primarily an account of the closing epoch of history, in terms of the world as we know and love it today. The book is seen as a prophetic revelation of end times. Whilst there may be some truth in this, it feels like this approach reduces the book to a time-line of final events and happenings and sidelines the central character of the book. I am convinced that we miss the point if we simply look to this great book for some catalogue of events yet to be unfolded. The truth is, as one good friend and theologian said to me, “this book has one central character and it is Jesus”. He and He alone is the centre and the central theme of the whole book.
When the great apostle John is graced with the privilege of having a huge vista of heaven opened to him, he made some remarkable observations. In my opinion, probably the greatest of these is recorded in chapter 5 of his fabulous, if not somewhat mystical literary work. As the horizon of heaven lays bare before him, he makes many critically important observations. Arguably the most significant observation of all is found in this chapter, it truly is a mind-blowing revelation. As he navigates the vision that lay before him, the Spirit of God enables him to locate a universal centre of operations for the whole of creation. He looks intently and searches for the hub of heaven and earth, the centre of everything. He identifies the pivot, the axis of the universe, the exact and unequivocal centre of creation and here are his words;
Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. Rev 5:6 New Living Translation
Chapter 7 reinforces this revelation, verse 17 says;
‘…for the Lamb in the centre of the throne will be their shepherd…’
John is given sight into the heart of heaven itself and what is at the centre? A Lamb as if just slaughtered! Think about this for a moment. In effect a blooded, dying Lamb occupies the centre point of the universe. John records for us the lead up to this sight, he’s weeping, wondering who is worthy to open the book and then one of the elders said to him “Stop weeping; behold the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book with the seven seals”. His heart must have been filled with hope. With such an introduction, John, like you or me, would have expected to see something that looked like a commanding military figure, who had all the hallmarks of victorious generals and all the trappings of majestic splendour that would go with it. Imagine then his shock, as he looks - what he actually sees is a ‘Lamb as if it had just been slaughtered’. One commentator remarks on how our familiarity with this image, lessens the impact of this verse, meaning that it does not have the same effect as it would have had on John. Thus, he says, ‘This is perhaps the most mind-wrenching “rebirth of images” in literature. The slot reserved for the Lion has been filled by the Lamb of God’.
The image of the Lamb is so clearly portrayed, the passage stresses the vulnerability of the Lamb, a truly pathetic sight. He’s blooded and weak, he looks as if he has just been slain. Rather than strong and impressive, the Lamb is in a pitiful condition. What a spectacle to place in ‘the centre of the throne’. Interestingly, John is told to see the Lion (v5) but what he sees is a Lamb. In stark contrast to the Lamb, there is possibly no animal that has inspired the imagination of man more than the lion. Lions are the prestigious elite of the animal kingdom. Characterised as fearsome, courageous and majestic, the lion’s strength and ferocity has earned it the title of ‘King of the Beasts’ in many cultures. As one of the largest of the ‘big cats’, the lion is able to prey on animals many times its size, its strong jaws and muscular build emanating an image of sheer power – and of course in the Middle Eastern culture of the day - a symbol of high honour.
So, are these two different creatures? No! Is Jesus sometimes the Lion and at another the Lamb? No! I think most of us would prefer the story to read that Jesus was the Lamb, but now, because of His great victory over sin and death, the Father has conferred upon His Son the status of a Lion. No! His ways are not our ways. The Lamb does not eventually become the Lion. These are not separate identities but coexistent identities. Christ is not one or the other, He is both. The Lion is quite simply the Lamb; or you could say the Lamb is quite simply the Lion! It seems that John is being led on a journey to rethink his understanding of how The Father works. We’d expect the conquest of evil to be made by some powerful militaristic figure, with a show of huge military strength that could be justifiably, and to us, correctly represented by the imagery of a Lion. No! Perhaps, in this revelation, the Holy Spirit was opening John’s eyes to see something that would re-shape his well-established conventions of understanding power and might.
We too must allow this passage and the truth it contains to challenge us as to where our faith is employed. In most of the new evangelical charismatic expressions of faith, I often find people slightly uncomfortable with the Jesus that this verse portrays. Reticent with a version of ‘Lamb-like Christianity’ where vulnerability, weakness and brokenness are valued, they move on to ‘Lion-like Christianity’ full of outrageous faith, optimism and hope, which on the surface offers a more attractive habitat for growth and a more appealing home for their members. However, we must all learn not to stray towards a dualistic Christianity by separating what was never meant to be separated; we must strive to hold these two identities together, in that both are true descriptors of the Christ we love, worship and follow.
This Royal Lamb speaks volumes to us. How does the Father win His victory? The gospel recognises no other way to victory and triumph than the cross. The cross speaks of defeat, poverty, foolishness, weakness, shame and disgrace. In one sense, the symbol of this cataclysmic eternal event known as The Cross of Calvary remains unchanged even by the resurrection. John sees the Lamb standing in heaven, the axis of the universe, and still today - should our Father grace us with an open window on heaven - we too would see the self-same sight. The Lamb as if just slain.
The position of ultimate authority over all things is given to the Lamb. Kenotic love. Kenosis is a Greek word meaning self-emptying. Self-giving love. The cross is the moment in time that captures perfectly, the truth in its absolute of Kenosis; self-emptying love is the heart, the axis of the universe and the kingpin that holds and sustains all things in heaven and earth.
How remarkable, how glorious!
Reflection
1: We live in a culture that admires, respects and rewards those who are confident, competent, charismatic, articulate, strong and dynamic. How does the cross of Christ challenge this culture?
2: Stop, fix your hearts and minds on this verse; ‘Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders’. Rev 5:6 New Living Translation. Mediate on this verse and allow the sight to challenge, offend and shock you!