19 The Lion, the Lamb, and the New Wineskin
C.S. Lewis and KendaLl Payne weren’t exaggerating:
“He’s not safe. But He is good.”
Jesus is the Lion of Judah.
Not the mascot of a religious franchise.
He:
- overturned tables
- rebuked leaders
- disrupted systems
- offended sensibilities
- shattered traditions
- defied expectations
- broke human protocol
- refused to flatter
- rejected titles
- exposed hypocrisy
- confronted unbelief
- and died as a threat to both religion and empire
The Lion terrifies institutions.
The Lamb heals broken people.
In the Ecosystem, Jesus is both:
- fierce enough to disrupt the System
- gentle enough to restore damaged sinners
- wild enough to lead by Spirit Whisper against expectations
- wise enough to confound the geniuses
- holy enough to demand everything
- merciful enough to forgive anything with our sorrow on bent knee
The System wants a tame Jesus—predictable, manageable, stage-friendly, smiling politely as long as you attend regularly.
But the Ecosystem needs the real Jesus—the Lion who tears up old wineskins and the Lamb who pours new wine into the new wineskin, the new container for the new growing life.
The Wineskin Principle
Jesus said:
“New wine requires new wineskins.”
He was not giving advice;
He was issuing a warning.
The Ecosystem requires:
- new structures
- new rhythms
- new expectations
- new containers
- new relationships
- new priorities
- new courage
- new approaches
You cannot pour daily priesthood into a weekly model.
You cannot pour Zoe-Life into a ritual. Not happenin’.
You cannot pour radical love into an audience structure. Love is always tested—or it’s not love. Read 1 Corinthians 13.
You cannot pour spiritual power into consumers.
You cannot hold the Lion of Judah in a wax museum.
The wineskin must match the wine.
Gen Z knows instinctively:
the old wineskin cannot hold the Future.
Aslan is on the move.
Don’t stop your crying on my account
A frightening Lion, no doubt
He’s not safe, no he’s not safe
Are you tempted now to run away?
The King above all Kings is coming down
But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think that He should
But He is good, He is good
I know you’re thirsty, the water is free
But I should warn you, it costs everything
Well, He’s not fair, no He’s not fair
When He fixes what’s beyond repair
And graces everyone that don’t deserve
But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think that He should
But He is good, He is good
No one knows Him whom eyes never seen
No, I don’t know Him but He knows me
He knows me, He knows me
Lay down your layers, shed off your skin
But without His incision, you can’t enter in
He cuts deep, yeah He cuts deep
When the risk is great and the talk is cheap
But never leaves a wounded one behind
But He won’t say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don’t do the deeds you know that He could
He won’t think the thoughts you think that He should
But He is good, He is good