I would like to look at two scenes in Scripture where we see a multitude of people gathered around the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The first scene is one that will take place in the future and is a scene of worship and joyful bliss. The second scene is one that occurred nearly 2,000 years ago and is in direct contrast to the first, for it is a scene of mockery and painful agony.

"And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain … the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb…. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth … and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" (Revelation 5:6-11).

Here we have a glimpse of that wonderful future day in the glory when all the redeemed will be gathered around the Lamb praising Him for His matchless work of redemption at Calvary's cross. He is no doubt recognized as the Lamb that had been slain by the marks in His hands, His feet, and His side which He will bear forever as a reminder of His shameful death endured for sinners on the cross (see John 20:20, 24-28). This numberless host of redeemed sinners will gladly sing of His worth and extol the virtues of His life-giving blood which was shed at Calvary resulting in their being redeemed to God. Now let us turn to Calvary itself:

"Many bulls have compassed Me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset Me round…. For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet" (Psalm 22:12,16).

Here we have prophetic Scriptures announcing how unredeemed sinners would be gathered around the Lamb at Calvary. No song of praise and adoration is heard from the lips of this hate-filled crowd, but rather mockery and insults.

"And they that passed by [the cross] reviled Him, wagging their heads, And saying … save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have him: for He said, I am the Son of God" (Matthew 27:39-43).

What a heart-wrenching scene this is, to see those whom the Lord Jesus had come to save heaping insult upon insult on Him and actually taking pleasure in seeing Him suffer. And then to think that those people who surrounded the Lord Jesus that day, intent on destroying Him, were but representatives of all of mankind who were born with enmity in their hearts towards God (see Romans 5:10; 8:7; Colossians 1:21). Thus, had we been there without the knowledge of God's saving grace in Christ, we too would have joined in with the mad taunts and jeers of the angry mob. Yet God chose that very occasion, when man's hatred of God was manifested in the rejection of His Son, to demonstrate His love by providing salvation for lost and guilty man. "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

Calvary was no afterthought with God; He allowed His Son to be nailed to that accursed tree as the Lamb of God in order to provide a righteous way to redeem us from the penalty of our sins (see 1 Peter 1:18-21; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The sinner who believes this is redeemed and will one day, by God's infinite grace, be numbered among that redeemed company gathered around the Lamb in the glory, with everlasting praise, worship and adoration being heaped upon the Lamb from lips that once cursed Him. Amazing thought! Praise be unto Him whose love provided a Saviour for sinners in the Lamb of God and whose grace can so work in hearts to turn rebellious sinners into adoring saints!

—Dennis J. Oberg