21 Gospel Parallels from Disney’s The Lion King (2019)

I’m not sure how to say this out loud, but the original The Lion King was never one of my favorites growing up. Too sad. In fact, it was the first movie in which I cried while watching. So, whenever I look back on the movie, it’s the sadness of the scene of Mufasa dying that I remember most rather than catching the power and inspiriting nature of the entire production.

 

But coming back to the movie theatre to see it as an adult was different. That it was set against the backdrop of a realistic African plain with the appearance of real, live animals instead of cartoon versions somehow set the tone of next level from the beginning. The applications to a living faith were written all over the place.

 

So, here is my list of 21 gospel parallels from The Lion King (2019):

 

1. Worthy to be Praised

 

“All the earth bows down to you;

They sing praise to you,

They sing praise to your name. Selah” -Psalm 66:4

 

In the opening scene, as King Mufasa takes his place on the cliff overlooking the entire pride lands, all the animals come to center around him. From the tallest giraffe to the tiniest mouse, they all stop to hear from their king and bow in worship.

 

Watching this scene reminded me of the song “So Will I” by Hillsong. The lyrics speak of a God who is not only worthy to be praised but whose every aspect of creation is moved to worship Him. Here are some of the lines:

“If the stars were made to worship, so will I… 

All nature and science follow the sound of your voice…

if creation still obeys you, so will I… 

if the oceans roar your greatness so will I…”

 

Even more, when the people are worshipping Jesus in Luke 19, and the Pharisees tell Him to have them stopped for blasphemy, Jesus responds, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

 

So, my heart was bursting as I watched the animals all gather for Mufasa to step out on the cliff and address them as their king. They directed their gaze toward him. There was a sense of trust in this true and good and righteous king who had their best interest in mind. And so, if all the living creatures and even the rocks will worship Him (God), as the song says, “so will I.”

 

2. The Character of the King

King Mufasa is an awesome example of a humble yet mighty king. He is dangerous by nature: he’s at the top of the food chain, and his roar could cause the largest animal to shutter. And yet, Mufasa is good.  Like C.S. Lewis’ Mr. Beaver said of the God-image bearer Aslan, “He isn’t safe. But he’s good.” He rules with justice and peace. He is righteous and cares deeply for the inhabitants of the land. And they trust him.

 

3. A Loving Father

Not only is Mufasa a righteous ruler, but he is also a loving father. Parents know that loving their children is more than spoiling them with every good thing. In reality, children must learn how to grow and flourish in this world. They must be guided and directed. In other words, in love, there is discipline. “I have to teach my son a lesson,” says Mufasa. He wants his son to know the greater impact of his actions. There is consequence when we choose our own way, when we depart from what is right and stray from the almighty.

 

In Proverbs 3:11-12, we are reminded “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son delights in.” While this verse provides good instruction for parents in how to truly love their kids well by providing them the loving discipline they need, it carries a weightier truth to open our hearts for God’s correction in our lives. He has what’s best for us. We can trust in and even welcome His correction.

 

4. Jesus is the true servant King.

 

In his tender moment of father-to-son instruction, Mufasa wisely tells Simba, “While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give.” Jesus was a true servant in heart and in action. Matthew 20:28 proclaims the nature of Jesus: “Just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

He washed all of His disciples’ feet, knowing that some would stick with him to the end, and others would fail to remain faithful to him. And faithful or not, the reality is they had dirty, stinky, overworked, and unkempt feet. He lived to serve God’s good purposes and to serve as a sacrifice to all people. He was a blameless lamb given over to death to remedy our death sentence caused by sin, once and for all.

 

5. The prince of this world will one day be put in his place.

The wise baboon Rafiki gets so excited when Mufasa’s son Simba arrives (and –spoiler alert—returns to) the scene because it means that the villain Scar will not have the ultimate reign of the pride lands. There is hope that the land will not be ruled by selfish pride and evil intent from Scar but from the actual flesh and blood of the father king. Simba is of the same substance as his father, Mufasa, who was a righteous ruler.

 

6. The Presence of Evil in this World

Mufasa has a coming-of-age heart to heart with Simba where he explains that “Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” But beyond the light is a dark place. “Beyond those shadows…You must not go there, Son,” warns the loving father to his son. You may notice that Mufasa doesn’t tell him what exactly is beyond those shadows; rather Scar does, to tempt him.

 

Similarly in Genesis, God warns Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They do not know much about the tree, only that they were warned not to eat from it. It is the Devil that comes along and tempts their curiosity and causes them to question why their loving father would withhold something potentially good from them. An elephant graveyard may seem fun and interesting, but it’s filled with danger. The Devil, similarly, tempts us with things that appear desirable, but end up destructive. Our Good Father knows what’s best for us.

 

7. God’s creation begs awe and wonder.

“Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance,” Mufasa says as he passes his wisdom on to Simba. God’s creation is so evident that an intelligent creator was behind it all.

 

Ann Voskamp, in her book “The Greatest Gift,” writes “the earth outside your window is tilted right now at just twenty-three degrees,” which means “there are seasons and the vapors of oceans don’t simply amass continents of ice…the planet’s bulk of six sextillion tons…spins perfectly balanced on an invisible axis, spinning you around at one thousand miles an hour, nine million miles a year. Hurtling you through space even right now in this sun orbit at nineteen miles per second.” (I dare you to ask Siri “What is six times sextillion?” You’ll be amazed at her answer!)

 

And get this: if the earth was tilted on its axis at even a percentage of one degree closer or further away from the sun, the earth, at least as you know it would not exist. So yes, Mufasa, you speak wisely.

 

8. Pride brings many to ruin.

“Pride goes before destruction,

a haughty spirit before a fall.” -Proverbs 16:18

 

Young Simba is an example of what happens when you are unduly prideful. He brags, “Future kings don’t need advice from little hornbills.” He acts too big for his britches: “Now no one will treat us like cubs,” he touts. Only problem is, they still are cubs. He can’t see himself for who he actually is. “I laugh in the face of danger!” His self-actualization isn’t there. He puts himself and Nala in danger to prove his bravery, and yet he has it all wrong. He thinks he needs to prove he can fight the battle alone, but he can’t yet, and he wasn’t meant to.

 

He sings “I just can’t wait to be king!” out of ignorant pride. As he sings the song it is evident his heart is set on gaining the power and position of king, not the high responsibility that comes with it. His heart is not set on service.

 

9. Good and Evil have been at war since the beginning of time.

Zazu warns the hyenas who are moving in on the young Simba, “But if you do this, you will start a war with Mufasa.” The matriarch hyena Shenzi replies, “Hyenas and lions have been at war since the beginning of time.” It is true, good and evil have been warring since the beginning.

 

It was accounted with the first man and woman, Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. And when Satan attacks the pinnacle of God’s creation, human beings, he is calling war with God. God comes to bat for us against the evil one and the evil forces. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” according to Ephesians 6:12, “but…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil…” And Jesus has the final say.

 

10. God will get the glory.

“I think the hyenas were even scareder!” Simba boasts in pride of his father after he scares off the hyenas with his mighty roar. At the end of the day, no one messes with Mufasa. He is the top dog. Likewise, try though they might, but God will get the glory over all other powers and forces that exist. Mufasa answers Simba’s pride by glorifying himself: “That’s because no one messes with your Dad!”

 

11. As the “father of lies,” the Devil tempts.

Scar deceptively tempts Simba with a twist on the truth “Where everything the light touches is yours.” The Devil’s three main tactics in tempting humans are the same as the tactics he used on Jesus in the wilderness where He spent 40 days there starving: the opportunity for power, prestige and misguided pleasure. He tempts us to take what’s not ours and his followers are convinced.

 

But as Scar and Shenzi remind us, “A hyena’s belly is never full.” aka: Indulging in the temptation is never fully satisfying because it is based on deception. When Scar tries to backtrack on how he threw the hyenas under the bus, my daughter couldn’t help but raise her voice in the movie theatre: “He is such a liar!” And with that, Scar announced his own reign.

 

12. God calls us to stand at attention.

As the conflict intensifies, Scar and the hyenas enter into a fight song “Be prepared!” Even though it’s Scar’s villain song, it’s a true concept: there is a battle of divine proportions. God teaches us to be prepared for the battle. Take up the armor of God. In Ephesians 6 that lists the pieces of armor, five out of the six pieces of armor are utilized for defense: The one piece of equipment listed for battle that is on the offensive—rather the one piece whose purpose isn’t protection, but considered a weapon—is the Word, which is the “sword of the Spirit.”

 

13. The Father’s love is larger than life.

The Father’s love knows no bounds. Mufasa embodies this when he is willing to enter into the fire for his child. One of the most dangerous things in all of nature is a stampede. And Mufasa, even though his son messed up, enters right into the middle of it, risking his life out of love.

 

God, our Father, rescues us. Our Savior Jesus willingly and knowingly loses His life to save ours.

 

14. The voice of shame we hear is not from God.

Scar has an overpowering voice of shame when he tells a hurting and vulnerable Simba to “run away, Simba, and never return.” Similarly, the Devil finds us in our weakness and in our sin, and we hear that murderous voice whispering “Run away. Hide your face.”

 

In a gentle voice in the cool of the day, God asks, “Adam, where are you?” The Devil does the opposite. It’s all your fault,” he tells us. “You not only did something wrong, but you are also bad to the core. Unredeemable.” Moses is convinced of this in Exodus 2 when he finds himself in a compromising situation and flees from Egypt. It is a detour in God’s plan for him to rise up to be a leader for the people.

 

When Timon and Pumbaa claim they saved Simba’s life, a very discouraged Simba responds with, “It doesn’t matter.” He’s convinced that his life is not worth what it really is. “I did something terrible,” he explains. The wise Rafiki will have to set him straight!

 

15. Hope will not disappoint us.

Sarabi: “Our time will come.” She has a quiet faith that good will win. That they will have the ultimate and final victory. There is hope in a desolate place. Sarabi won’t abandon her post even when times get hard. Will you keep hope when you can’t readily see the happy ending? Romans 5:2b-5 speaks to this.

 

16. God loves those that feel like outcasts.

Timon and Pumbaa laugh at the truth that Simba has learned from his father: “Why would a bunch of royal kings (aka: God) be looking out for a bunch of outcasts like us?“ they question.

 

Outcasts happen to be God’s favorite people. He hand-picked the outcasts to be His disciples. Of all the people in the world, He chose the lowly shepherds to send the greatest news in all the world to first, via angels, that the Savior was born. The first people who experienced the joy of learning Jesus had risen from the grave were women. He hung out and dined with “sinners” and those the religious elite considered “nothings.” He constantly spent his time and energy debunking the myth that there was a hierarchy to knowing Him.

 

17. Love brings harmony.

When Nala’s friendship love compels her to go searching for the Simba who “once was lost,” the two discover there is even more to their love. In “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” the chorus proclaims, “the world for once, in perfect harmony.” Simba’s heart had been hardened by the message that he messed up too badly to experience love. Nala’s display of unconditional love begins Simba’s process of rediscovering who he really is.

 

While it’s just an example of an earthly relationship, the God of the Christian faith IS love (1 John 4:8,16). Read on to see how love in its ultimate form reminds him who he is and where he came from.

 

18. Our identity is found in the Father.

Rafiki sagely asks Simba, “The question is: who are YOU?” Simba admits he is confused by the question. He doesn’t really know who he has become, nor has he made sense of his past by escaping it.

Rafiki: “You are the son of Mufasa.”

Simba: “You knew my father?”

Rafiki: “Correction. I know your father. He is alive. I can take you to him.”

 

With that, he takes Simba on a wild goose chase through the African jungle. When they arrive at Rafiki’s destination, he declares, “Your father is waiting.” Rafiki takes him to the edge of the water where Simba looks down into the surface of the pond and sees a reflection, as in a mirror.

 

Simba must find his identity in his father or he will not take on his purpose in life. For the first time, he is able to see his father in himself. He was lost, but Rafiki is helping him find himself in his father. “You must take your place in the circle of life,” Rafiki nudges him to own his identity. It’s a high place, a high calling. “You must take your place as …king.”

 

19. The Father is faithful.

“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” -Hebrews 13:5

 

As the image of Mufasa fades into the night sky, Simba begs, “Please don’t leave me!”

 

“I never left you. I never will,” Mufasa reassures in his strong fatherly voice. Then he tells Simba something so important, “Remember who you are.”

 

He is Simba. What more is there to say? But Simba’s reality of himself is skewed. He has written a story of himself in his mind: that he is a mess-up, a failure, and a disappointment. That there is something drastically wrong with him, his past and there is nothing he can do to redeem his fateful history. He is right in one thing: He can’t. So, Rafiki asks him again, “Who are you?” “I am Simba, son of Mufasa.”

 

It matters not so much who you are but whose you are. He was Simba before and after that moment, but what changed was his identity in being the son of the One True King. We are sons and daughters of the One True King too if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and that means we have the inheritance of royal blood. Not because of anything we did on our own account or of who we are in and of ourselves, but in our identification with Him. I’m with Him!

 

And in that moment, Simba’s spirit awakens. He comes alive to the truth, and it changes everything. He will freely go be who he was meant to be. His chains of shame are off to take on an identity of righteousness that comes from whose he is, not a righteousness of his own.

 

Just as Mufasa (and as spoken earlier, Aslan) represent a dually-existent gentleness and might, the background lyrics of “Spirit” beautifully deliver a delicate yet powerful message:

 

“So, go into that far off land,

And be one with the great ‘I Am.’”

 

Yes, yes, yes!!!

 

20. There will be a final battle that ends in victory.

The plot comes full circle as Simba has Scar run away. He puts shame to rest once and for all by removing the source. Revelation depicts a final battle where Jesus will put Satan in his place once and for all, remove him from this earth and punish him eternally.

 

The Devil won’t go down without a fight, though. Revelation contains an epic final battle scene where the Devil tries to avenge one last time. We get a taste of this as the two lions rise up against each other. It will be a battle for sure, and even when all seems lost for Scar, he throws embers in Simba’s face.

 

21. Jesus is the Anointed One.

In the beginning of the movie, Rafiki anoints Simba as the future king, the heir to the throne. He is also present when it is time to announce him as the new reigning king. This isn’t a perfect metaphor, because, unlike Jesus, Simba is far from perfect, but the glory displayed in the moment of anointing is reminiscent of Jesus, THE anointed one, spoken of since the beginning of time and spoken of by the prophets.

 

God sends his approval down with a dove when Jesus is baptized and says “This is my son. With him I am well pleased.” He takes his position as king and announces his authority like a roaring lion.

 

Hosea 11:10: “They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.”

 

He commands authority with His presence and obedience by His love.

 

Which of these gospel parallels speak most to you? How will you teach these modern-day parables to your children? Leave a comment!

 

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