The Better Superhero!

Who is your favorite superhero?

Growing up it seemed that Batman, Superman, Spiderman and the Hulk were the leading characters for DC and Marvel superhero magic.

I recently asked a group of students to share their favorite superhero. And as they began to mention each one it was exciting to be reminded of some of the characters and storylines of each one.

For most of us, comic books have become a thing of the past or perhaps even nonexistent because of Hollywood’s attempt to capture these cartoon-like storylines with the use of technology and special effects.

Nevertheless, maybe we can agree that no matter the character there are some basic tenets that have aroused our curiosity and gained an overwhelming amount of support and appreciation for their accomplishments.

Superheroes have prolific success. Names like Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, and Bruce Banner seem so ordinary. But their alter ego interspersed with capes, masks, immaculate strength, and shooting webs from their wrists garner a superhuman experience that impresses our naive child-like imagination.

They’re considered superheroes for a reason; they’re super and they’re heroes. Their stories of success cause us to believe that good will prevail. Evil can be defeated. Life can be restored.

Superheroes are public servants. A casually dressed businessman looking out for his own financial interests and personal fulfillment can all change in the blink of an eye. When a need to solve life’s latest dilemma arises he will quickly retreat from climbing the corporate ladder to perhaps shimmying up the ladder of a burning building to save a life.

Superheroes make personal sacrifices. The most memorable line, for me, in the movie Spiderman is, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Oftentimes self-denial is a prerequisite for meeting the needs of others. Placing self-interests on the back burner for the sake of doing a greater good for others is often necessary. And a superhero’s willingness to make personal sacrifice often earns the name ‘superhero.’

Whether it’s a comic book description of a superhero’s life or a modern day version of someone we consider to have superhuman tendencies they all these things in common: success, service, and sacrifice.

Even for characters in the Bible we can attest to these attributes in great pillars of the faith like Abraham, Noah, David, Esther, and Ruth. But for those who place high regard on Scripture it becomes pivotal to recognize Jesus as the greater superhero.

Jesus had prolific success. When Jesus came on the scene He was like a rockstar. His encounter at the river with John saw the heavens opened and a voice speaking from the clouds. His first miracle was turning water into wine, and many scholars say that those six water pots were estimated to hold 20-30 gallons each. That’s a lot of wine!

In every town He visited, people became so enamored by His authority that they believed simply touching His robe would heal them. Talk about a guy having roadies!

Jesus was a public servant. His rockstar status was not the driving force of His attitude and actions. For anyone wondering, He said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve.” His twofold agenda was this: (1) glorify His Father through submission to His Father’s authority and (2) display the works necessary for others to believe and be reconciled to His Father.

Miracles and healings are notable moments that require the reader’s attention. When He spoke, people listened. When He healed, people rejoiced. They recognized that the greatest contribution and service that this man made was bringing truth and life to all who would believe.

Jesus made personal sacrifices. Gaining a following came at a cost. But, ironically enough, the crowd disappeared when the climactic moment of His personal mission was being fulfilled. Many were impressed and inspired but they weren’t intimately close when met with His suffering.

Consider these words that describe His sacrifice,
“although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form
of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found
in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

That is personal sacrifice. Not just the scourging or even death itself. But the separation. To not only look sin and death in the face but to realize that your own Father has turned His back on His only Son and placed the just wrath deserving for sinners like you and me on Him. What an incredible display of sacrificial love for unjust sinners like us.

The story doesn’t end with Christ’s death on a cross. The story culminates with a remarkable resurrection from the dead proving to be the stamp of approval on the Father’s redemptive plan.

And here’s how the passage in Philippians continues, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

While Jesus did display the acts of a public servant and make personal sacrifice, the prolific success of His life rests in the finished work of the cross and resurrection. This makes Jesus the better superhero!