And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 

Revelation 5:5

The king of the jungle doesn’t live in the jungle. A lion’s primary habitat is grasslands. 

It’s fair that the origin of the word jungle is connected to wilderness where humans are not inhabitants. But, as the English adopted the word (jungle has its origins in Sanskrit), it became known as the wetland/rainforest. Even still, King of the Jungle is the right moniker for a lion. It is the apex hunter at the top of any food chain, except maybe the human one. Their majesty, sheer power, and unmatched strength have secured their position at the top.

The first time I saw one, I was in a Florida zoo. We walked up to the exhibit, and the male lion was sunbathing for all to see. Its tail was subtly wagging like a grandfather clock as it nestled on its perch. Perhaps a distant cousin, but I saw the same look of superior non-interest that many house cats ooze. This king of the jungle was over everything, just like your average teenager. I was mesmerized. I stood there, with my jaw open, soaking in the beauty of this majestic creature. God was showing off when He made the lion. 

I could have stood at that exhibit for most of the day. But, like any parent knows, you don’t get to keep the itinerary when you bring your kids along. I held out as long as my children would let me. I was in awe. And, I didn’t need him to get up or move. I didn’t need him to play with some of the interactive elements in the exhibit. I was happy to watch him resting. But, my kids were not. So we walked away to the next animal enclosure.

And then, every hair on the back of my neck stood up. My chest compressed. My ears hummed. This docile lion without a care in the world used his voice and roared. We were at least a football field away. I knew that he was safely behind the enclosure and there was no chance of needing to run for my life. I was in a controlled environment. But I felt that roar in my soul. It was terrifying. And one of the most incredible sounds I’ve ever heard. 

Recordings don’t do it justice. And, as much as MGM tries to convey the power with Leo’s roar—to hear it in person gives you weak knees and a sense of awe.

This is Jesus. His power. His majesty. His strength.

And He uses it for you. Jesus uses all of his power and strength to fight for you.

Yesterday’s gospel lesson, for many, was the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is one of the most astonishing and powerful pieces of our scripture. Jesus displays who he is, what he can do, and also the depth of his humanity. Our scripture is something less if we don’t have this miraculous sign as a part of the Jesus narrative. But, you might miss that this story also foreshadows our Lion of Judah.

Twice in John 11 we hear about Jesus being greatly troubled or deeply moved. How could we not be—Jesus’ dear friend just died. “When Jesus saw Mary weeping, ad the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and greatly troubled.” John 11:33. And again, “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone lay against it.”. John 11:38

On the surface, neither of these verses is too surprising. Of course his spirit is troubled and he is deeply moved by the loss of Lazarus and the family who is troubled at his death. I don’t know about you, but I’m regularly moved when those around me are moved and my emotions match theirs. But, Jesus is more than deeply moved here. This is more than shared grief and sorrow. Jesus troubled spirit is more than good friendship of someone who sits in the sorrow with us.

The Greek word used in both of these verses shows a far more visceral Jesus. Our English translations have sanitized these words for these verses. A better picture of Jesus in this moment is that he is angry. But more than just angry and certainly more than just sad, Jesus is enraged. He is furious. He is indignant. This is the more honest translation of Jesus in this moment. In fact, classical Greek uses this word to describe the visceral snort of a war horse as it prepares for battle. The troubled spirit of Jesus is a war cry.

Isn’t that awesome!! Jesus, as he is about to go toe-to-toe with death, is entering the moment like a war horse preparing for battle. Jesus, moments prior, declared about himself, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” And now this Lion of Judah is snorting with rage as he comes to the tomb to confront death. He’s furious about death; about sin; and he is ready to go to battle. Jesus confronts the tomb of Lazarus’ death with anger and rage. And this holy, righteous anger is backed by the powerful roar of a lion who is ready for battle.

A roar that will make the hair on the neck of death itself stand on end.

He fights for you. The Lord fights for you. Isn’t that good news! Too often we have the image of a docile Jesus who sits in the field with lambs petting their heads. But the other reality is, Jesus—the Lion of Judah—also came to do battle on your behalf. He came to fight for you. He’ll never stop fighting for you. 

And his roar—well, let’s just say, it is mighty good that the Lion is on your side. Or, more to the point, you are on his.