Google: Animals of the Gospel
https://www.christianheadlines.com/slideshows/10-times-god-used-animals-to-accomplish-his-purposes.html
Do you know which 4 creatures are associated with the 4 Gospels?
Do you know which 4 creatures are associated with the 4 Gospels?
Matthew is associated with the winged man — or the angel — because his Gospel focuses on the humanity of Christ, Saint Jerome affirms. In fact, it is Matthew who includes the narrative about the genealogy of Jesus.
The lion is related to St. Mark because his Gospel emphasizes the majesty of Christ and his royal dignity, just as the lion has traditionally been regarded as the king of beasts. Mark’s Gospel begins with the prophetic voice of John the Baptist, crying out in the wilderness like a lion’s roar.
Luke gets the ox, because his gospel focuses on the sacrificial character of Christ’s death, and the ox has always been a sacrificial animal par excellence, both for Judaism and Roman paganism. In Luke’s depiction of the Nativity, the ox, with the donkey, bears witness to the birth of the Messiah.
John, finally, is associated with the eagle for two reasons: first, because his Gospel describes the Incarnation of the divine Logos, and the eagle is a symbol of that which comes from above. The second, because like the eagle, John — in his Revelation — was able to see beyond what is immediately present. They don’t call St. John the Evangelist “the Eagle of Patmos” for nothing!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetramorph
1st scheme—Irenaeus
The man is Matthew, because his Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus; the lion is John, because his Gospel begins full of confidence; the ox is Luke, because his Gospel begins with priestly sacrifice; and the eagle is Mark, because his Gospel begins with the prophecy of Isaiah. Irenaeus originates this connection between the four living creatures and the four evangelists because he is looking for an answer to the question “Why four Gospels?”
2nd scheme (most common)—Jerome
The rationale given for this scheme is how each Gospel narrative begins. Matthew is the man because he begins with a genealogy; Mark is the lion, roaring in the desert with prophetic power; Luke is the ox, because he begins with temple sacrifice; and John is the eagle, flying heavenwards like the divine Word. It must be said that at a certain point, once enough interpretive authorities in the church backed this scheme, many who followed simply defaulted to their authority.
3rd scheme—Augustine
The lion is Matthew, because Matthew’s Gospel depicts Christ royal character, he who descended from the tribe of Judah; the ox is Luke, because Christ is shown in his priestly character; the man is Mark, because of the humanity of Christ shown in that Gospel focusing on the things the man did; and the eagle is John, because the mystery of the Word ascends to heaven. Augustine departs from Jerome’s scheme saying, “This latter formulation focuses only on the beginnings of the books and not on the overall plan of the evangelists, which is what should have been examined more thoroughly.”[8]
4th scheme—Aimee Semple McPherson
The Eagle is Matthew, who presents Jesus as the King who will soon return to seek his people, Jesus Will Return; the ox is Luke, where he presents Jesus as the suffering servant who bore our sickness, Jesus Healing; The Face of Man (representing Mark) presents Jesus as the perfect man who came to save us, Jesus Saves; The Lion is John presents Jesus as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit.
What 4 animals represent Jesus?
The most common interpretation, first laid out by Victorinus and adopted by Jerome, St Gregory, and the Book of Kells, is that the man is Matthew, the lion Mark, the ox Luke, and the eagle John. The creatures of the tetramorph, just like the four gospels of the Evangelists, represent four facets of Christ.
13 Important Animals In The Bible (Scriptures, Symbolism, Stories)
https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-animals/
https://www.immanuel-tours.com/israel/israels-biblical-animals/
https://www.reptileknowledge.com/reptile-pedia/which-animal-did-jesus-use
Thumb & Four Fingers 