Aslan instead of Edmund

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Chapter 14 - The Triumph of the Witch

Aslan withdraws, without sharing His plans with the Witch. He teaches and trains Peter in how to lead His people, as Jesus did the disciples. Peter is thinking of military operations all the time, even when the main fight will take place on a different theater (Luke 22:38; John 18:10). Aslan's sadness parallel's Christ's affliction in Gethsemane (Matt 26:38). Peter is shocked that Aslan won't always be there.

The girls have an intuitive forboding about Aslan and follow Him into the wood. He lets them come a certain distance (Matt 26:37), but must go on alone after that. The faithfulness of the girls in not sleeping and being with Him in His deepest need, throws into more awful contrast the disciples sleeping in Gethsemane (Matt 26:40).

He goes to the Stone Table, where the forces of evil have gathered. They are rightly afraid, at first, but suppress it, claim victory, ridicule, bind and abuse Him (Matt 27:29-31), "cheering as if they had done something brave, though one of those paws could have been the death of them all [Matt 26:53]. But He made no noise" (Isa 53:7). The witch's cruelty comes out, again, as she has Him shaved first (Matt 27:35). They taunt Him as a pussy cat (Matt 27:41-43). But to the women looking on, He looks braver and more patient than ever (Matt 27:55-56).

Lewis makes the substitutionary death point real clear: the witch gets ready like "when it had been Edmund instead of Aslan." The knife itself is of stone, for the letters written on stone kill (2 Cor 3:3-6).

The witch believes she has won, that she can go back on her promise to take Aslan for Edmund, once Aslan is out of the way. But she makes two mistakes: 1. Thinking the Deep Magic (moral law) is to be "appeased," not fulfilled. 2. Thinking that death is the end - her indestructible trump card. But death itself can be overcome.