In a special ceremony on Saturday, a massive bronze lion statue celebrating the friendship shared between Christians and Jews was dedicated in Jerusalem.
The 1,134-pound, 11-foot-long bronze statue, dubbed the Lion of Judah, was created by American Christian artist Max Greiner. The sculpture was given to Israel as a gift of friendship and to symbolize support from American Christians to the Israeli Jews, Faithwire reports.
Several prominent Christian and Jewish guests attended the ceremony at Jerusalem’s Old City Walls.
“We thank you for this sculpture representing the Lion of Judah. We thank you, Lord, that you are the Lion. We thank you, Lord, that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We thank you, Lord, that we are ambassadors of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and not even the gates of hell shall prevail,” Nick Vujicic, Chief Executive Officer of Life Without Limbs, prayed.
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, who delivered remarks at the dedication, asserted that God had fulfilled His promise to give the Jews the state of Israel after scattering them and later restoring them.
He also cited God’s fulfillment of His promise in Psalm 126, which states that when the Lord brings His people back, they will say in response, “He has done great things for them.”
“The prayer, support, and friendship of Christians for the Jewish state, the State of Israel, is no less a fulfillment of biblical prophecy than the State of Israel’s existence itself,” Wolicki explained. “The growing positive relationship between Christians and Jews is one of the most miraculous developments of recent history.”
“This Lion of Judah sculpture marks this miracle for posterity. For decades and centuries to come, visitors to Jerusalem will come to this place, read the inscription and be reminded that as the State of Israel flourished in our time, American Christians stood with us, shoulder to shoulder in love and friendship,” he continued.
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the Jerusalem Deputy Mayor, also praised the close ties between Christians and Jews.
“In Hebrew, when we inaugurate something as special as this that symbolizes the incredible friendship between Jews and Christians and the Evangelical community, we have a prayer,” she said.
“We are so blessed to have gotten to this place, to have the Old City of Jerusalem, where we just celebrated Jerusalem Day, 55 years of the reunification of the city King David built for the Jewish Kingdom of Israel, the city that united all the tribes of the Jewish Kingdom of Israel, the city that in Hebrew symbolizes peace,” the deputy mayor said.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post, the Lion of Judah statue was installed in Bloomfield Garden, one of the largest parks in Jerusalem, back in May 2020.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Nick Brundle Photography
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
