The Lion: A Christian Symbol

There's a strange history between Christians and lions. Sometimes the coming together of lions and Christians has been rather antagonistic and bloody, other times the relationship is surprisingly harmonious and friendly. Christianity has given the lion a great honor by using it in a title for Christ. What does it mean to say Jesus is the Lion of Judah? How does that title shape our Christian understanding of lions?  How have the many references to lions in Scripture led to our use of lion symbolism in our Christian tradition?

The King of the Jungle

In Africa, the lion is the apex predator, and 'king of the jungle'. He's not afraid to let you know. Due to their unique vocal chords, lions have the loudest roar of all the big cats. The males are crowned with a majestic mane. As a sign of dominance, they grow longer and darker with age, attracting the affection of the lioness. Without taking the religious meaning into consideration, the lion is a perfect, natural symbol of strength, courage, power and kingship. While the wild lion population today is restricted to Africa, in Bible times they were also in parts of the Middle East. They are the sixth most often mentioned animal in the Bible (145 times). 

The King of the Universe

The book of Revelation gives Jesus the title, Lion of Judah. Revelation 5:5 says, "and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”  The word Judah means praise. This reference to the tribe of Judah also reminds us of Genesis 49:9 describing the original Judah, son of Jacob, "Judah is a lion’s whelp... He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?"  Jesus is called the 'Son of David' which identifies him as the expected Messiah whose kingdom will rein forever. He is also born into the tribe of Judah. 

When we call Jesus, the Lion of Judah we call to mind both his royal status and his lion-like qualities. Jesus is the King of Kings to whom the three kings of the East prostrated as they humbly handed over their tribute, gold, frankincense and myrrh. When taking that title Lion of Judah, Jesus is saying. I AM  a Warrior King, the Wild One, the Messiah, the Giver of Life, the Hero, and the New David. I am the Priest King and the Just Judge. I have come to dethrone the devil. “Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Jesus, the Lion stands in contrast to Jesus, the Lamb. As the model of humanness, he strikes the perfect balance between divine mercy and divine wrath. As St. Augustine said, "He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion."  It was Jesus, the Lion of Judah, that left the crowds 'amazed and afraid'. The Lion of Judah turned the cross from an instrument of torture into a weapon of love. "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Col 2:15). Ironically, at the top of that cross hung a sign declaring Jesus to be The King of the Jews. This sign was meant to send a message to deter insurrection, it turned out to be a prophetic announcement that the reign of the devil had been overthrown.

Lions and Saints

St. Mark: Each of the Evangelists have a symbol associated with them. St. Matthew, a divine man, St. Luke, a winged ox, and St. John, a rising eagle. For Mark it is the Christian symbol of a winged lion. The gospel of Mark begins with scenes of John the Baptist and Jesus in the wilderness whose caves were inhabited by lions at that time. More here.

St. Paul: There is a fun legend of a lion taken from the Apocryphal Acts of Paul: "When Paul was walking towards Jericho, "There came a great and terrible lion out of the valley of the burying-ground... But when I finished praying, the beast had cast himself at my feet. I was filled with the Spirit and looked upon him, and said to him, 'Lion, what do you want?' But he said, 'I wish to be baptized'. I glorified God, who had given speech to the beast and salvation to his servant. Now there was a great river in that place, and I went down into it. When I had prayed thus, I took the lion by his mane and in the name of Jesus Christ immersed him three times. But when he came up out of the water he shook out his mane and said to me, 'Grace be with you!' And I said to him, 'And likewise with you.' " Later in the story, St. Paul is ordered by the Governor of Ephesus to be thrown into a pit with a fierce lion. It turns out to be the same lion that he baptized. Of course the lion refused to harm him. 

St. Ignatius of Antioch: Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and early church father, may be the most famous of the Christian martyrs who were devoured by lions. In a letter written during arrest and transport to Rome, he says, "I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God".

St.Jerome: St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin, is often depicted in Christian iconography next to a lion. The Golden Legend offers a brief summary of how St. Jerome became associated with a lion. "One day toward evening, when he was seated with the brethren to hear the sacred lessons read, a lion suddenly limped into the monastery. The other monks fled at the sight of the beast, but Jerome greeted him as a guest. The lion showed him his wounded foot, and Jerome called the brothers and ordered them to wash the animal’s feet and to dress the wound carefully. When they set about doing this, they found that the paw had been scratched and torn by thorns. They did what was necessary, and the lion recovered, lost all his wildness, and lived among the monks like a house pet." 

Daniel:  In the book of Daniel, Chapter 6, there is the most extensive and powerful lion story. Daniel is one of the king's best administrators and consequently he was targeted by his jealous rivals. They convinced the king to outlaw prayer for 30 days, unless it was offered to the Persian king. Daniel, a devout Jew from Judah, could not honor that law. he prayed three times a day and was caught. The king, regrettably threw Damiel into a lion's den and sealed the entrance. 

The next day the king found Daniel alive and well. "At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”  Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” After that the king threw all the accusers of Daniel into the den and the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. 

Christ-like Lions and Popular Culture

Simba: Disney's The Lion King has many surprising allusions to Christ's kingship. Simba is a wise, good, victorious, feared son of a King.  He goes through a type of spiritual training in the hidden years and experiences temptation. He has a type of baptism where he is anointed and held up before the pack of lions as a model of faith. His father, Mufasa is mysterious and God-like. Simba can be wild and fierce as he confronts evil personified by Scar. He is, in the end, victorious over evil. 

Aslan: C.S. Lewis' classic series, the Chronicles of Narnia, features the Christ figure as a talking lion. About the lion’s name, Lewis wrote. “I found the name in the notes to Lane’s Arabian 16 Nights: it is the Turkish for Lion. I pronounce it Ass-lan myself. And of course I meant the Lion of Judah.” Aslan is indeed the Lion of Judah, Jesus who rules over Narnia after defeating the White Witch who once decreed, 'Always winter, never Christmas'. Regarding Aslan, Mr. Tumnus says, "Don’t worry. We’ll see him again." Lucy asks, "When?" Mr. Tumnus replies, "In time. One day he'll be here and the next he won't. But you mustn't press him. After all, he's not a tame lion." Lucy responds, "No. But he is good." 

Jesus, the Lion of Judah provokes fear, reverence and awe. You would do well to keep Mr. Beaver's words in mind the next time you dare to encounter Him.  “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”