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Revelation 5:1-14
INTRODUCTION: This morning we begin our Narnia Christmas Series, based around C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. Just out of curiosity, how many of you here this morning have ever read any of the Narnia books? Have any of you read all of them? I was first introduced to these wonderful books as a child. I had two older sisters who were both avid readers, and they both loved the Narnia books. We had the whole collection in the house so I didn’t even have to get them out of the library to read them. I started with the one that is probably the most familiar of all the books: “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
If you have never read the books and you are interested in checking them out, this would be a good one to start with. It was the first book that Lewis wrote in the series, and it does a good job of introducing you to Narnia and many of the main characters. If you like movies, this is the story that is coming out in the theaters just 12 days from now – but who’s counting, right? I can’t wait! I am a big movie buff, and I love the Narnia Chronicles, so I am very excited. But there is another good reason to start with “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and that is because it contains some wonderful parallels with the Bible and Christian teaching. The other books in the series do too, but this book in particular has some very clear and striking parallels with the Christian faith.
By the way, those parallels are not accidental or incidental. The author, C.S. Lewis, was a committed Christian. He was also one of the most influential Christian thinkers and writers of the twentieth century. And so it is no accident that you can find all these amazing parallels in the books. The Chronicles are rich with Christian teaching and allegory and often very moving in their portrayals of faith, sacrifice and love, all from a biblical perspective.
These books have played an important part in my own life and my own growth and understanding of the Christian faith. As I mentioned, I first read them as a child, but then I also re-read them in my teen and college years. Rose and I read them through together early in our marriage. And now I have the great fun of reading them out loud as a parent to my children - for the second time through! And believe me it is a lot of fun. When we read out loud at our house, we don’t just read the words off the page in a monotone, but we get into it. When a character shrieks, we shriek, when Aslan roars, we roar, and Lewis makes these books a lot of fun to read out loud.
So what exactly are these Chronicles of Narnia? Some of you know them well, but this may be all new for many of you. The Chronicles are a series of seven books that deal with the comings and goings of a number of children from mid-twentieth century England into a whole other world called Narnia. There the children have all sorts of adventures as they help the good people and talking animals of Narnia through difficult journeys and perilous times. They also encounter a marvelous talking lion named Aslan. Aslan rules over all, and he is the one who makes it possible for the human children to pass from their world into Narnia and back again.
They are fantasy books, and yet like so many works of fantasy, they contain important truths that resonate deeply with the real world in which we live. Fantasy literature often allows us to glimpse new insights into our own world by opening up whole new perspectives that we would otherwise miss. And because the Narnia Chronicles contain so much Christian truth and beauty, they also help us to gain new insights into the world of Scripture and our Christian faith.
So where do we begin to look at some of these “Scripture Truths from Narnia at Christmas”? I believe the best place to begin is with the most important character in the stories, and that is the person of Aslan. So let me introduce you briefly to Aslan the Lion.
I. Meet Aslan, the Lion
Aslan is the ruler over all Narnia. He comes and goes as he pleases, but he is always present, guiding the various events that take place, giving help and support to his followers at their greatest times of need. The first time we hear Aslan’s name mentioned is in chapter seven of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Four children from our world: Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy, all brothers and sisters, are talking with a Beaver who happens to mention Aslan’s name. Yes, you heard me right – they are talking with a Beaver. This is one of the fun aspects about the world of Narnia. Narnia, unlike our own world, has both regular animals and talking animals. The talking animals are larger than their non-talking counterparts (ex. Reepicheep the mouse – three feet tall), and have intelligence, emotion, and the ability to make moral choices.
The Beaver simply mentions to the children that “Aslan is on the move.” Then Lewis writes: “And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning . . . Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.”
In the next chapter when the Beaver mentions Aslan’s name a second time, the children all cry out: “Oh, yes! Tell us about Aslan!” for as Lewis writes, “Once again that strange feeling – like the first signs of spring, like good news had come over them.”
“Who is Aslan?” asked Susan.
“Aslan?” said Mr. Beaver, “Why don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood.” . . .
“Shall we see him?” asked Susan.
“Why, daughter of Eve, that’s what I brought you here for. I’m to lead you where you shall meet him,” said Mr. Beaver.
“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King . . . and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.” . . .
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“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.”
And so Aslan is not a tame lion. He is wild and free and strong, and yet he loves the good people and animals of Narnia, and they love him back.
A different girl named Jill encounters Aslan for the first time in the fourth book of the Chronicles called The Silver Chair. Jill has just committed a terrible deed. Now she is dying of thirst and the Great Lion lies on the ground between her and a stream of water. For a long time she stands still, terrified of moving any closer. The Lion bids her come and drink. “Will you promise not to - do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
“Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
“I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion. Jill finally comes and drinks from the stream and is refreshed. Aslan then summons her forward, leads her through a time of confession, and then lovingly restores her.
Strong, fierce, majestic, loving and good - who exactly is this Aslan? The passages we have just read describe him as the great Lion, the King of Beasts, the Son of the Emperor-Beyond-the Sea. At the end of the third book of the Chronicles, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” Lewis has a very interesting passage which sheds some further light on Aslan’s identity. The children’s most recent adventures in Narnia are over, and Aslan must now send them back to their own world. Lucy is heartbroken.
“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”
“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.
“Are – are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.
“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
A little girl named Hila wrote to Lewis after reading this passage asking him to tell her Aslan’s other name. Lewis responded, “Well, I want you to guess. Has there ever been anyone in this world who 1) arrived at the same time as Father Christmas, 2) said he was the son of the Great Emperor, 3) gave himself up for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people, 4) came to life again, 5) is sometimes spoken of as a lamb. Don’t you really know His name in this world? Think it over and let me know your answer.”
And of course from a Christian perspective we see that Aslan is representative of Christ. Some people have viewed Aslan as an allegory of Christ, but Lewis did not view Aslan as allegorical. Here is what Lewis wrote in a letter to a friend about Aslan: “ [Aslan] is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ be like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He has actually done in ours?’”
And so although Aslan is a Christ-figure in the Chronicles, he is not meant to be a direct allegory of Christ in our world, but rather Lewis’ idea of what Christ might be like if he took on physical form in another world and provided salvation for them even as he has done for us. Of course in drawing his picture of Aslan in the world of Narnia, Lewis drew heavily from his knowledge of God and Jesus from Scripture, especially from the gospels. And so we move next from looking at Aslan the Lion of Narnia to looking at Jesus, the Lion of Judah.
II. Meet Jesus, the Lion of Judah
You might wonder why Lewis chose for Aslan to be a lion rather than a man or some other animal. The world of Narnia is populated by many creatures. Like our world there are different races of people in Narnia and a wide variety of animals, birds, and fish. But Narnia has so many other creatures as well. We have mentioned the talking animals, but there are also fantasy animals like unicorns, centaurs, griffins and fauns. There are marsh-wiggles and mermaids, and giants and dwarfs. There are terrible creatures like Dragons and Giant Lizards. There also evil creatures like witches and wraiths, ogres and hags. Lewis obviously had many choices for the incarnation of Aslan in Narnia. But he chose a lion. Why?
Well, one reason is that Lewis was a stickler for symbolism. The word “Aslan” itself just happens to be the Turkish word for “lion.” Lewis felt that whatever symbol an author might use should always characterize well that which it represents. The lion is a fitting symbol for Christ in many ways. The lion is a symbol of royalty. It is the King of the Beasts. The lion is an animal of extraordinary beauty, agility and strength. A lion’s roar itself communicates power and majesty. We once camped out as a family next to a wildlife sanctuary in Florida called “Lion Country Safari.” What a thrill to wake up in the morning to the distant yet still very powerful roars of the lions as they greeted the new day.
But there is another, even more important reason why Lewis chose a lion for Aslan. And that is because the Bible itself uses the symbol of a lion for royalty, for power and indeed even as a symbol for Christ in our world. The lion was a well-known symbol of royalty in Biblical times. Cherubim were often depicted as winged lions, and the figure of the lion was used in Solomon’s palace (1 Kings 10:19f) and in the temple (I Kings 7:29,36). Lions also appeared in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple. (Ezekiel 41:15-19)
The Bible even uses “lion” imagery to communicate various aspects of God to us. We read in Amos 3:7-8: “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared — who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken — who can but prophesy?” In Jeremiah 25 God’s judgment is described in terms of a lion: “The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land . . . The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD . . . will bring judgment on all mankind . . . The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD. Like a lion he will leave his lair, and their land will become desolate . . . because of the LORD’s fierce anger.” (Jeremiah 25:30-38)
Our Advent Scripture reading this morning came from Genesis 49:8-10, one of the earliest prophecies about Christ. Those verses compared the tribe of Judah to a lion, and prophesied that a ruler would come forth from the tribe of Judah. “You are a lion’s cub, O Judah . . . like a lion he crouches and lies down . . . who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” (Genesis 49:8-10)
Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. He came from the tribe of Judah, and he is the ruler over all the nations. The book of Revelation picks up on this prophecy and gives Christ the title, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” (Rev 5:5)
And so Jesus Christ is the Lion of Judah, the eternal Son of the Living God. He is wild and free and strong. His power and majesty fill the universe. He does what he pleases and no one can thwart his plans. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the judge over all the world. He has indeed “swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms.” And if you asked the question, “Is he safe? Is he a tame lion?” I could only answer you in the words of Mr. Beaver to the children: “Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
III. The Lion is a Lamb
Now there is an interesting scene that takes place with Aslan in the final chapter of the third book of the Chronicles, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” The children have just crossed the great sea and arrived at the foothills of Aslan’s country. There, Lewis writes, they saw “something so white on the green grass that . . . they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.” The Lamb welcomes the children ashore and bids them “Come and have breakfast.” The children come and find “a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it.” It is a scene reminiscent of Jesus after his resurrection having breakfast with his disciples on the beach. Suddenly the Lamb changes right before their eyes. “His snowy white flushed into tawny gold, and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane.” And so Lewis portrays Aslan as both a lion and a lamb.
We read from Revelation 5 at the beginning of today’s message where the apostle John saw in a vision a sealed scroll in the right hand of him who sits on the throne. John wept because there was no one who able to open the scroll. Then one of the elders said to him: “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5) John looked up expecting to see a lion but writes instead, “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne.” Instead of a mighty lion, John sees a Lamb, which looked as if it had been slain. Craig Keener writes concerning this passage: “Whereas a lion was the ultimate symbol of power in ancient views of the animal kingdom, a lamb was considered powerless; a slaughtered lamb was a dramatic contrast with a reigning lion.”
Why does Lewis portray Aslan as both a lion and a lamb? Because Jesus Christ is both “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5) and “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) That is the good news of the gospel. The Lion is a Lamb. The mighty Lion who roars in judgment against sin and injustice became the sacrificial Lamb who died on the cross in our place to take away our sins and to take his own judgment upon himself. Jesus Christ is the Lion who is a Lamb. We will look more at Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross and how Lewis portrayed that in the Narnia Chronicles when we get to our third message in the series: “The Cradle, the Cross and the Wardrobe.”
CONCLUSION: And so Aslan is “the Great Lion ruler of Narnia.” Jesus Christ is “the Great Lion of Judah and Ruler of All” in fulfillment of the Biblical prophesies. He is also the Lion who became a Lamb. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus died on the cross for your sins. He became the sacrificial Lamb in your place. Will you put your faith in him today? You might ask the question, “Can I really trust him with my life? Is he safe?” And I can only answer you, “Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
© Ray Fowler
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