One night, a man was with his friends. He was a good man. He was kind and generous. He was a protector of children, and a teacher to the wise. But the wise thought they needed no teacher, and in doing so they became foolish.

They sent guards to arrest him, accusing him of crimes he had never committed. They bribed one of his closest friends. The Lion was betrayed, and yet he did not roar. He wept for his friend who had been consumed by evil.

They led him from the countryside into the city, through the gate of sacrifices. Before he was questioned, another of his friends was discovered. He was asked him he knew the Lion, and denied it three times.

The friend looked up to see the Lion, and fell down ashamed. And so the Lion was denied, and yet he did not roar.

The ‘wise’ spoke to him. The powerful demanded answers. But he would not speak, so they gave him to the people. The people could choose to release the Lion, who was innocent, or a murderer. With the whispers of the foolish wisemen in their ears, they choose the murderer. And yet the Lion did not roar.

They tore at the Lion. They whipped him until the skin on his back was mangled and blood poured from him. Then they forced him to carry the weapon that would ultimately kill him, a burden any stronge man would struggle with. And he did struggle, the Lion was made weak as he pulled the heavy weapon to its place on a hill. The Lion was humiliated, but he did not roar.

It was a torturous death invented by the Romans. Thick nails were pounded through his hands to pin him against the wood. They added others to his feet, a small kindness that really prolonged his death. To breathe the Lion had to push up on those nails, and gasp before falling back down. And yet he did not roar.

Throughout the day people mocked him, spit on him as his heart slowly failed. With his last breath he gasped, “Do not hurt them, for they know not what they do” And then he smiled, for this was his plan all along. To sacrifice himself to save his followers. And so the Lion did not roar, but fell silent for three days.

_If you want to see when the Lion roars, see the book of Matthew, John, and Revelation. _