In the Midst of Lions

“I am in the midst of lions – men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords”.

No, these aren’t the words of Martin Luther. But on April 18, 1521, as this 34-year-old Augustinian monk stood before the heavyweights of the Roman Catholic Church and Emperor Charles V himself, those words might have come to mind.

At that meeting held in the city of Worms, Germany, Luther was hoping to discuss what the Bible actually teaches – particularly about, what is known as, the doctrine of justification.

Because, where Scripture teaches that our salvation is not by works – but is a freely given gift of God, the Catholic Church was literally selling people their salvation. Where Scripture teaches that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, the Catholic Church taught we are saved by the grace we earn from God through the doing of good works. Where the Bible teaches that there is one mediator between God and men, that being the God-Man Christ Jesus, the papacy had effectively usurped Christ and his role as our sole, sufficient mediator and was now gatekeeping the vaults of God’s mercy.

But Luther wasn’t given a scriptural conversation; he was given an ultimatum.

He could either take back everything he ever said and wrote, or face death.

This wasn’t a meeting; this gathering looked more like a lions’ den – and the lions were roaring.

Martin Luther was considered by Pope Leo X as “a wild boar” running loose in God’s vineyard – but not anymore: the lions had cornered their quarry. Martin Luther was standing in the midst of lions.

But he wasn’t alone.

The Lions Are Lurking…

Daniel knew the feeling, too, didn’t he? I mean, if you thought Martin Luther’s situation looked incredibly bleak, Daniel’s situation looked way worse. Daniel has just been tossed into a pit of ferocious lions – lions whose mouths are loaded with 30 teeth and whose jaws have a bite force four times stronger than yours – 650 pounds per square inch; that’s enough force not just to break your bones, but completely crush them. And that’s just one lion. Now imagine an entire den full of them – and you’ve been tossed into their midst to be their next chew toy.

But from what we just read in Daniel 6, we discover that Daniel had been “in the midst of lions” even before he was tossed into a lions’ den. Long before lions would attempt to tear him up, his colleagues had conspired to tear him down. And at the beginning of chapter 6, they’re circling Daniel, waiting for a moment to strike.

You see, Daniel was up for a promotion – a pretty big one, too. He, along with two other administrators, was in the running to be appointed governor of the city of Babylon. Thing is, King Darius had his heart set on promoting Daniel. In fact, Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

While others in his position may have abused their power for personal gain, you couldn’t find that kind of corruption in Daniel: he remained a man of integrity. When others within the king’s inner circle would bend the truth to benefit themselves, you’d find no truth-bending with Daniel: he was a man who was worthy of trust. Where his colleagues may have slacked off and cut corners, you could never catch Daniel being negligent: Daniel’s work performance was solid. In the eyes of King Darius, having just conquered the city of Babylon, the more jurisdiction given to someone like Daniel, the better.

None of that sat well with Daniel’s colleagues. But their conspiracy to take Daniel down wasn’t driven by merely by petty jealousy; these men were out for blood – his blood. Those administrators and satraps didn’t relish the thought of a Jewish exile being their boss. So, they tried to dig up dirt on Daniel. They dug into his professional life, hoping to find charges against Daniel in how he conducted his government work – but they were unable to do so. They dug into his private life, hoping to expose an incriminating side of Daniel that Darius didn’t see. But there was no distance between Daniel’s private life and professional life. The Daniel you found at the office was the Daniel you found at home.

Daniel was a man who didn’t privatize his integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness – because he didn’t privatize his Christian identity and his faith in the LORD God. There was no leaving his Savior at home. His devotion to his God was visibly noticed and widely known by his peers. “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel,” they said, "“unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

So, they came up with a plan: they’d approach the king together as one mob to pressure  the king into issuing an edict – an edict that conveniently appealed to the king’s ego. For the next thirty days, there would be no worship of any other gods – that is, of course, except the worship of Darius.

Their proposition wasn’t simply to mandate the veneration of the state; they were mandating the veneration of a man: Darius was to be worshipped as a god.

For the next thirty days, all prayers had to be directed to Darius – as he was now the sole mediator and great high priest between the gods and the Persian empire – and if anyone wanted the favor of the gods, they had no other avenue but to go through Darius (sound familiar?). And anyone who prays to any god or human being – other than Darius – [would] be thrown into the lions’ den.

The king loved the sound of that – until his irreversible decree backfired.

Daniel’s loyalties to God and His Word trumped his loyalties to the state. That Daniel deliberately prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem communicated he wasn’t going through Darius to find God’s favor. It’s not that Daniel didn’t know the risks connected with communicating his love and trust in the LORD above all things: he clearly did. Now he was sitting in the midst of lions.

But he wasn’t alone.

We’re in the Midst of Lions

You see, this isn’t some moral fable about the pain that comes when we take the high road in the workplace; this is a cut-and-dry story – a true story – of the inevitable persecution that Christians face for professing and living out their faith in Christ.

I think of Christians today in Southeast Asia – whose biggest concern on any given Sunday isn’t whether they’ll get out of church “on time” to watch the big game, or whether worship services should feature an organ or a praise band. Their biggest concern on any given Sunday is whether the police will storm into their underground house church and take them away in handcuffs.

I think of Church reformers like Jan Hus, who criticized the papacy and championed the sole supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as our redeemer and mediator – and those convictions resulted in him being burned at the stake, and his ashes dumped in the Rhine River.

And then there’s King David, who – centuries before Daniel – describes how he felt as he was being persecuted in the words of Psalm 57:4: “I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts – men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.”

Maybe those are your words, too.

Maybe you’ve felt the bite for being a Christian.

Maybe your social circle has snapped at you for saying “no” to something you know isn’t right.

Maybe your colleagues have roared at you because you go to a book that was written millennia ago for truth and guidance instead of trusting horoscopes and influencers on TikTok.

Maybe you’ve felt surrounded by people who are out to get you – all because you cling to a crucified God for comfort.

We, dear Christian, are in the midst of lions.

But we are not alone.

The Lion of Judah Stands With You

Your God is with you – just as your God was with Daniel.

God sent his angel shut the powerful jaws of every lion surrounding his prophet. God delivered Daniel from that lions’ den – just as your God continues to deliver you from yours. That isn’t to say the time between now and eternity will be free of pain or persecution for our faith.

But what we can’t say is “God has abandoned me.” Because he hasn’t. He’s will always be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.

And how do we know that to be true? How do we know that we are not alone?

Because your God doesn’t just stand with you in the midst of lions; your God would stand for you in the midst of lions.

Jesus endured the sum total of all persecution and hatred that every Christian has and will experience. Jesus, through the words of David, would say as he suffers and dies on a cross that “roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me…They pierce my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:13, 16b).

But your Savior wouldn’t just be devoured by the mistreatment, abuse, and mockery of the world for you. Your Savior would endure the bite of God’s justice to free you from the jaws of death. And three days later, your Savior emerged victorious from the den of death – proving he has rescued you from sin and death as well. It is entirely by God’s undeserved, freely given love that you are saved.

That salvation is credited to you freely as a gift through faith in Jesus. It is on account of his righteousness – not ours – that you and I are reconciled to God. It is by his works – not ours – that we have absolute certainty of our salvation. There is one mediator between God and man – that is, the God-Man Christ Jesus. And if he has set you free from sin, death, and hell, then you’re free! Full stop.

God delivered Daniel, just as he delivered Martin Luther. And that’s the same God who has and will deliver you.

In the end, we will see the vindication of God’s Word and the deliverance of God’s people; but we don’t need to wait until then to know God’s Word has been vindicated and his people delivered. Look no further than Christ’s cross and his empty tomb.

See your God dying to deliver you from death.

See your Savior rising from the dead to prove that he’s won you life!

The time is coming when every roaring lion will be silenced, and every knee will bow to the Lion of Judah – our God and Savior Jesus who rescues and saves.

So, let the lions roar. Christ, the Lion of Judah roars with you – and for you.