Tragedy Is Just A Footnote
We open our blog to our personnel to capture their thoughts and creativity. In the spirit of Easter, a member of our leadership team has shared this blog with you today.
The movie The Batman came out just over a month ago, and if you’re a fan of the comics, you would have noticed that the movie was inspired by the Long Halloween story line that sees the great detective hunt down a serial killer over the holidays.
Not spoiling the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but the director seemed to grasp the early days of the Dark Knight as he tries to navigate fighting crime in Gotham City. One of the things that was captured beautifully was how even having the Batsignal shine in the darkness struck fear into the hearts of the criminals of Gotham.
Fear was a tool that Batman used throughout the movie. The criminal’s fears that the Batman would suddenly just appear out of the darkness was something used throughout the movie, accompanied by the creeping theme song of the movie, anyone would be afraid of the Batman appearing out from the darkness. Seeing the signal pierce through the darkness was enough to strike fear into the hearts of the criminals, but it would also become a signal of hope to the hopeless.
Similarly, back in the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, there was a method of capital punishment only reserved for the worst type of criminals that struck fear in the hearts of the people. That method was called crucifixion. People that were considered to be a threat to the peace such as rebels, pirates, political agitators, and religious heretics were often the ones that needed to be made an example of through this terrible method of punishment.
After the criminal was tried, they’d be subjected to scourging which meant that the criminal would be stripped naked and then whipped with a whip that had iron barbs at the ends of the whip. Then after the scourging the criminal would then drag their cross to the location where they would hang, only to be nailed on the cross through their wrists and ankles. There hanging on the cross, a sign would be posted above their heads stating their crime, as they would slowly die from blood loss and asphyxiation. If the roman soldiers wanted to quicken the process of their death, they would shatter the legs on the criminal so that they would no longer be able to hold their bodies up, eventually dying from asphyxiation.
All that and more happened to Jesus all for the sake of love for you and me. He endured humiliation, torture, abandonment from his friends just so that he could die on the cross for you and me. And not only just die on the cross, but defeat death by rising again on the third day.
The bible says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Meaning that no amount of good works, good lifestyles or attitudes or sacrifice would be enough to cross that gap between our humanity and God’s divinity. But God showed his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We deserved death but instead have been offered eternal life through the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross.
While we were still sinners Christ died for us.
It’s one thing to sacrifice your life for someone you know or someone you love, but it’s another to die for a complete stranger with the possibility of them rejecting your sacrifice. Jesus endured the cross for people like you and me. There isn’t a mistake so bad, an addiction so deep that we can’t be saved from. All we need to do is to believe.
The bible says in John 3:16-17, that this is how God loved the world; He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Because of Jesus, the very symbol of fear death has become a symbol of hope and salvation to anyone that believes in Him.
We celebrate Good Friday because the death of Jesus on the cross meant that death no longer has its sting. We celebrate Resurrection Sunday because the tomb that Jesus was buried in is empty. Jesus made it possible for us to cross over from death to life. Where people see death, we see life.
Tragedy was a footnote in the chapter of His triumph.
You too can live with hope this Easter.
God bless you.
Guest Blogger : Timothy Opiniano
