Who Will Save Us? Part II

To see my discussion of the documentary Waiting for "Superman" click here. 

I began with the quote which bemoans the fact that "no one was coming with enough power to save me," given by one of the leading education reformers in the country. And by "leading" I don't mean on Capitol Hill; I mean someone who runs a school in Harlem and has effected actual and meaningful improvement. I've discussed the idea behind this quote as it pertains to the question of educational reform, which was the original context in which it occurred. But the quote really struck a deeper chord in me, an eternal chord.

The documentary ended with a clip from the old Superman TV series in which Superman, played by George Reeves, rescues a school bus full of children from going over a cliff. "The children are safe," declared the Man of Steel before flying off. Superman has always held a special place in my heart. As a comic book nut I love heroes like Batman, Spiderman, the Green Lantern, the Hulk, and even the Flash. Batman in particular is compelling because unlike most of the other heroes, he has no special powers. He's a billionaire, true, with marvelous gadgets and martial arts abilities, but he's not bullet-proof, doesn't have a ring of power or a spider bite from a radioactive spider. He's an ordinary man doing extraordinary things, one reason why he's so popular these days. It seems to offend us when the hero is too strong; we want to see him struggle, to wonder how he's going to pull out the victory.

And Superman is the most powerful being on earth, impervious to anything and everything except Kryptonite. No matter the challenge, no matter the threat, it's hard for us to imagine someone who can fly, lift entire buildings, go faster than bullets, and withstand nuclear blasts, not prevailing eventually. Superman is also irresistibly good, well-mannered, considerate, and humble. He's perfect. And perfection is boring.

Until, however, the earth is threatened by a stray meteor or a giant robot. Then, of course, he's our only hope, our greatest hero. Because he's the only one with the power, the knowledge, and the will to save us. Batman would be willing to save us, and since he's the world's greatest detective he's probably got the brainpower for it. But the power? He's just a man. Spiderman has some power; he can lift cars and punch through brick walls. But enough power to stop a meteor?

The correlation between Christ and Superman has been well-documented throughout the years since the rise of comic book heroes. The latest cinematic adaptation of Superman was positively dripping with allusions to Jesus. Take this line for instance, spoken to Kal-El by his father: "Even though you were raised as a human you are not one of them. They can be a great people if they choose to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason, above all, I have sent you to them, my only son." Pretty glaring, isn't it? And from Hollywood too! I was flabbergasted when I saw that, even more so that it was dialogue recorded 25 years earlier from the first Superman film.

This is Holy Week. Today is Thursday, the day of the week when Christ was crucified. (I know, tradition holds that he was crucified on Friday; however, Matthew 12:40 suggests that Jesus spent 3 days and nights in the tomb, which would mean he was crucified on Thursday if he rose again on Sunday.) Regardless, it is at this time of year that we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a process by which Christians believe they are saved. Jesus is the Savior of the world, paying the blood price for humanity's sins to reconcile them to God.

Every human born of a man and a woman is born in sin. We aren't sinners because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. Our sins and sinful nature separate us from God and consequently the spiritual life that is only to be found in Him. The wages of sin is death, which means we are born spiritually dead. And since God is perfectly holy and righteous, unable to tolerate sin, we as sinners cannot please Him or share His life. This is our plight. This is why we need a savior.

Thus we find ourselves in the same condition earlier discussed. We need someone who has the power, knowledge, and desire to save us. We believe that God sent His Son, born of a virgin which bypasses the sinful nature which natural birth leads to. He was perfect from birth, which gave him the power and ability to die for the sins of all, instead of for his own sins. He knew that salvation for humanity could only be accomplished if a sinless man laid down his life on the altar of God for the sins of the world. Not only that, he knew that if someone put their faith in his sacrifice, God would forgive their sins and declare them righteousness, joining their spirit with His and restoring them to life. So he had the power and the knowledge to save us. Which brings us to the greatest thing of all.

Christians are rather hung up on the love of God. The majority of praise and worship songs make some allusion to the vast and gracious love God demonstrated to us through His Son Jesus. Even more than His holiness, righteousness, omnipotence, and eternal nature, we dwell on the grace, mercy, and patience of God, all of which are manifestations of His love. For this reason; since God is perfection, holiness, righteousness, He cannot stand sin. It is anathema to Him. And the idea that He would be so bent on saving humanity that He would sacrifice His one and only Son is so mind boggling that we can only weep for joy and gratitude. Because He loves us! He wants us! He desires to spend eternity with us! With me!

If there was ever someone who could legitimately turn away in disgust, to throw up his hands and say, "They're a write off," and scrap the whole thing, God had that right when He saw how perfidious and persistent mankind is on defying Him. Not only did He not give up on us, however, but He and His Son, who shared His deity, agreed that Jesus would put off His deity and throne, and condescend to be a human, to humble himself even to the point of being killed on a cross, paying for the very sins that ended his life. And what's more, God raised Jesus from the dead and beckoned to humans to share his death and resurrection, that they might share his life, the life of God.

We see, therefore, that in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection the power, knowledge, and will of a Savior was joined in a glorious symphony. There are many more elements of the Passion of Jesus Christ that could be discussed, but for this week, this celebration, the basics are too glorious to be fully comprehended.

How great a salvation!