The Lion of Judah

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENT CONCERNING CHRIST

THE LION OF JUDAH

Gen 49:8-10

8 "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness — who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

NIV

It is as though we do not even have to read the scriptures that show us Jesus has fulfilled this prophetic declaration of Jacob, Israel, to Judah, one of his twelve sons, while he was on his death bed. From of studies of the life of Jesus, we already are aware he came from the tribe of Judah. But for our time now we shall record those verse which show the fulfillment is in Christ.

Matt 1:1-2

1:1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

NIV

Although this genealogy is carried throughout all the men from Abraham to Jesus, it is clear within these first three verses, Jesus was in the line of Judah.

Within the letter to the Hebrews, tucked within language concerning the changing of the priesthood from Levi to Judah, the writer makes this clear statement:

Heb 7:13-14

 14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,

NIV

The importance of this change is the Law came through the tribe of Levi, the Levitical Law. But when another high priest came, Jesus, he came from the tribe of Judah and thus the Levitical Law held no meaning. He fulfilled the Law, and as we are in Christ, we too have fulfilled the Law, or have no need of obedience to it. Although it is true we are subject to Christ and his commands, which we already know the most important one is love. Yet the point is we should not put ourselves back under the Law for if we do and break just the littlest one, we are guilty of them all. Why, when we have been freed from the law, would we place ourselves under it? Yet do we not do that very thing every time we establish some list of do’s and don’ts? Because Jesus did not belong to or come through the line of Levi, the Law has been left behind for a new covenant.  This new covenant is based on faith rather than works. Those under the Levitical Law had to work at keeping it. It was a difficult task each day to make sure every observance of the Law was fulfilled. Yet they could not, because it was designed by God for that very purpose. He gave them Laws they could not keep, showing them their need for a Messiah, a Savior. Maybe one of the reasons they rejected Jesus as Messiah was because he was not from Levi, but rather Judah. We have one more text which proves Jesus came through the line of Judah.

Rev 5:4-5

 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."

NIV

This is Jesus, the one and only one who has triumphed. Again the importance is we have not. Perhaps sometimes we might think we have victory in Jesus, but that is just it, it is in Jesus. We have no victory of our own. We can do nothing apart from him. The only reason we can live a victorious life is because Jesus lives in us, as us. We, by ourselves cannot live any other way then less then victorious. If Jesus is not living in us, then we are doomed to failure. In fact, in the flesh, in our bodies, we will fail. We cannot live without committing some form of sin, no matter how small it is, it is still sin and that makes us unqualified to be called victorious, for we have not triumphed. However, we are in Christ and he lives in us therefor we have already won the battle, we have become victorious through Christ. It may be a leap, but as Jesus opens the seals, we open them as well, because we are in him. What a glorious thought, we are present in Christ, he is present in us. Of course this is in the spiritual sense because we are still captive to this physical form. But one day we will be released from this body and will be ever in the presence of our Lord, in some other form. It may well still be what appears as this body, but as when Jesus was resurrected in a glorified state, so will we.

1 Cor 15:50-54

50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."  

NIV

This is the victory we have in Jesus, our high priest from the tribe of Judah. His lordship will never end. The scepter and the staff belong to Jesus. He is our Lord, and our shepherd. He will lead us home. He is the Lion of Judah.