Who does it for you? Aslan or Jesus?

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!"

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, "To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshipped. (Revelation 5:6-14)

The Lamb wins the victory! The hosts of heaven sing about the Lamb. There is no more talk about lions. The Lamb who was slaughtered is the one worthy to receive praise along with “the one seated on the throne”, God. For a Jewish-Christian audience reading this story, this is powerful stuff. Only God is to be worshipped and praised and yet here we see the Lamb being praised on the same level with God. This continues through the rest of the book.

Remember what John the Baptist said the first time he spotted Jesus? “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) This is the plot twist in God’s story. Redemptive violence does not win the day, sacrificial submission does. Jesus modelled love, compassion, mercy and a concern for justice. He absorbed all that evil could dish out and refused to respond in kind. For that, God honoured him.

Aslan or Jesus? The New Testament comes down on the side of Jesus, the Lamb.