“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh” said Susan. “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.”

– The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

There’s something magical about Aslan that has captured not only the imaginations but the hearts of readers for decades. The more we hear of Asland, the more we’re holding our breaths with Henri, Susan, and Lucy when they finally get to meet the great lion. And we hold our breath for good reason.

Aslan, to put it plainly, is dangerous. Our natural sense of self-preservation urges Peter, Susa, and Lucy to avoid him as much as possible. Not only is he a great lion, but he’s a magical lion. His father is the great King of all the world, and Aslan carries the power of his bloodline to perfection.

And yet…we find that we want to know Aslan more. For Aslan is not merely a bloodthirsty, cold-hearted tyrant. He has high expectations, yes. He doesn’t allow those in his service to slack, nor does he allow anything less than true loyalty. But we know there must be a reason Aslan’s people are crying out for his return. They revere him.

They love him.

And we learn why. The great warrior king loves his people. But not only those who love him. He sacrifices himself in the place of a traitor who hates him. He pays the price such darkness as Edmund’s required.

And we, as children and as adults, love him, too. In fact, I don’t think I speak for myself when I say we long for such a soul in our own lives.

Those who know anything about C.S. Lewis will probably jump in to say that Lewis had no intentions of writing an allegory. But if we read his letters and reflections after the book was written, we can see that Aslan was very intentionally written to reflect Jesus Christ of the Bible. In the article, “Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia,” published on the C.S. Lewis Institute website, we find this:

Lewis said in a letter, Aslan “is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ become 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 actually has done in ours?’” Lewis called that a supposal. Imagine if Jesus were to go to another world and die and rise again in that world. What would it look like?

-Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Christin Ditchfield

We love Aslan because we long for the One who loves us. Who knows what’s best for us and does what is right. Who is more powerful than the chaos of this world. Who is strong enough to protect us and gentle enough to love us.

Who among us has not wept in the night, wishing that great lion was at our side?

Well, dear friend, I have good news. The best news of all. That King does live. And His name is Jesus Christ.

In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.

– Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

This is the Jesus whom God the Father told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” -Genesis 3:15.

This is the Jesus whom God the Father kept His promise of sending when He preserved Noah and his family.

This is the Jesus whom God promised when He promised Abraham descendants of many nations, for those nations would be saved through Christ.

This is the Jesus foretold when God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son, but in Isaac’s place, God sent a ram in the bushes to sacrifice in his stead…just as He would one day send His own Son to sacrifice in the place of all His children.

This is the Jesus whose line God preserved by making Joseph almost a king so the his people would survive the great famine.

This is the Jesus foretold when the Israelites were told to smear blood on their doors so the Angel of Death would pass them by before the Exodus from Egypt…just as the blood of Christ would preserve God’s children through his own sacrifice.

This is the Jesus David prophesied when he wrote in Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

This is the Jesus God promised when He told David, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever,” in 2 Samuel 7:16.

This is the Jesus promised in Isaiah 9:2-7 when He says,

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

You have multiplied the nation;

you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

as with joy at the harvest,

as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden,

and the staff for his shoulder,

the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken as son the day of Midian.

For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

and every garment rolled in blood

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

wand the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

This Jesus was gentle and lowly to the humble and poor in spirit who drew near to Him out of need and desperation and longing; who fashioned a whip twice to drive the greedy moneychangers out of the Temple courtyard; who bucked the Pharisees for the extra laws they had added to the law that God did not author; who loved his own people and those who were not his people, bringing the dead back to life, driving out demons, and healing diseases.

Who spoke truth when the ignorant did not wish to hear it…because He is a God of love even when we do not wish to know His love.

We long for Aslan, friends, because our hearts were made to love and be loved by Jesus. Aslan is more than real. I would posit to say that Lewis would agree with me when I say that Aslan, as much as we love him, is like a child’s drawing of Someone who is more real than we can imagine.

And as Aslan sacrificed himself for Edmund’s sin, so Christ sacrificed Himself for the sins of His own children. Children of every skin color, from every tribe and tongue. Who bore the nails in His hands and feet, thorns on his head, and pieces of metal and bone in his back, for sinners like us.

Who rose again from death so we might, through Him, conquer death as well.

And we are not asked for money to come and buy this good news. We don’t have to do the best that we can and hope He’ll make up the difference. No, it is a gift.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing gin the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

-Ephesians 1:4-10

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

-Ephesians 2:4-10

And what must we do to receive these immeasurable riches? Christ answers that question Himself:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand^; repent and believe in the gospel.”

-Mark 1:15

So have joy, my friend! Let your fears and anxieties fall away as we rejoice this Easter in the God who stooped to save those who didn’t love Him by loving them. Whether you’re dealing with sickness, as my family has been this week, or poverty, grief, loneliness, anxiety, turmoil, or any other struggle, take hope in Jesus Christ. For He truly is the King that is both mighty…and gentle.