Scripture uses a wide variety of symbols, images and word pictures to teach truth. Each one needs to be understood in its proper context. My New Testament professor at Acadia liked to say, “A text without a context can easily become a pretext”. So, let’s take a look at a couple of biblical images which might surprise you.
A lion
A lion can evoke different emotions in us. While visiting the lions’ habitat at the “Niagara Safari” in Stevensville, we can admire (from a distance) their raw strength, their rugged beauty and their regal confidence. No wonder the lion is called “the king of the beasts”. But if you found yourself alone with one of these creatures, those feelings of admiration would quickly turn to fear.
One of the names given to Jesus in Scripture is “the lion of Judah” (see Revelation 5:5). Humanly speaking, Jesus could trace his ancestry back to the Jewish tribe of Judah. The original Judah was one of the 12 sons of Jacob (later named Israel). When Jacob prophesied over each of his boys at the end of his long life, he said this about his fourth son – “You are a lion’s cub, Judah” (Genesis 49:9).
Jesus would be the most important descendent of this patriarch as he fulfilled the long-awaited promise of a Jewish Messiah. So, calling Jesus “the lion of Judah” was a positive description depicting strength, power and majesty. C.S. Lewis used this image when he portrayed Jesus as the lion “Aslan” in his book (and later movie) called “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” in his popular “Chronicles of Narnia”.
But it might surprise you that Scripture describes someone else as a lion — the devil. The apostle Peter warns his readers, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Obviously, this is a negative image of a hungry animal looking for its next victim. Peter is teaching that believers need to be spiritually alert in their walk with God because they have an enemy who seeks to tempt them to sin, stray and ultimately abandon the faith.
A thief
This image is a negative one. No one wants to be robbed in any way. I remember being warned about pickpockets in Italy. I experienced being robbed (in person) in Ivory Coast. And I recall the shock of having my home robbed (in absentia) in Canada. No country or culture is immune. All are negative memories.
Jesus once said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) The “thief” he was referring to is Satan, the same personage that Peter described above as a “roaring lion”. Jesus is contrasting his purpose with that of his archenemy.
Satan (which means “accuser” or “adversary”) wants to steal your happiness, hopes and dreams. He wants to kill and destroy you physically, emotionally and (ultimately) spiritually. That’s why he tempts and tricks people to adopt addictive and harmful behaviors. Jesus offers us the opposite— an abundant life full of purpose, meaning and joy.
But it may surprise you that the apostle Paul used the “thief” image at one point to describe Jesus’ return. He warns that someday Jesus will come back to this earth like “a thief in the night” (see 1 Thessalonians 5:2). Paul is not describing Jesus’ character here but rather the nature of his return. It will be sudden and unexpected. And, sadly, many will be spiritually unprepared.
So, what’s the bottom line? First, read your Bible carefully (in context) so you don’t jump to wrong conclusions. And, second, choose carefully and wisely which path in life you follow. I’ve chosen to follow “the lion of Judah” so that I will be ready when I meet him someday (either at my death or his sudden return). I’ve also chosen not to follow the “roaring lion” who seeks to devour my life and soul, and steal all the blessings God desires for me.
What about you?
Rob Weatherby is a retired pastor.
