In the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which is probably an allusion to a royal title of the kings of Judah. There were statues of lions beside the throne of Solomon. There may also be a connection between Jacob’s prophecy about Judah being a young lion.
What does a lion symbolise? A lion has strength, courage, and a loud roar. Because of its strength, a lion can bring down an animal much bigger in size. The courage of a lion is such that it can take on many opponents if it was attacked. The voice of a lion strikes fear into would-be attackers, but it would be a comfort to its family or pride.
Thinking of Jesus, he is a strong Saviour. The Bible says that he is mighty to save. He has all power in the universe. He is also a courageous Saviour as he showed when he went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. And his voice is very powerful. One day, he will speak and there will be a great resurrection. He will also speak powerfully on the day of judgement. Meanwhile he speaks powerfully in the gospel.
One day, a Scottish minister called Robert Bruce was preaching in St Giles. Among the audience, in the royal box, was King James VI. The king fancied he was a good theologian and so he commented loudly on what Bruce was saying. Eventually, Bruce rebuked the king by saying, ‘The Lion of the Tribe of Judah [i.e. Christ] is now roaring, in the voice of His Gospel, and it becomes all the petty kings of the earth to be silent!’ For once, James knew who was really in charge.
C. S. Lewis used the image of the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia to depict Jesus. Susan said regarding the prospect of meeting Aslan, ‘I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.’ ‘Safe?’ said Mr Beaver ...’Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.’
When they eventually met Aslan, ‘His voice was deep and rich and somehow took the fidgets out of them. They now felt glad and quiet and it didn’t seem awkward to them to stand and say nothing.’ They were blessed with awe at his greatness.
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