It’s almost Easter. So let’s talk about the Dark Knight Rises. I think it can help us understand a side of the resurrection that I’ve rarely heard talked about.
In the middle of the film Officer Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt; swoon ladies, swoon) asks Bruce Wayne about why he would wear a mask as Batman. Bruce tells him it’s to protect the people closest to him but then he hits on something that stuck with me more than anything in the film.
Bruce Wayne: The idea was to be a symbol. Batman could be anybody. That was the point.
Blake: Well, it’s damn good to see him back.
Bruce Wayne: Not everybody agrees.
Blake: They’ll figure that out in the end.
The idea of the Batman was never supposed to be idolatry of Batman. The Batman was supposed to only serve as a catalyst to spur everyone else into actually making a difference.
I believe some people have made the same mistake with Jesus’ resurrection. It’s one thing to say you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s another thing to actually live out the resurrection; to be the resurrection.
Even before Jesus died he expected his followers to do more than just intellectually affirm him. He says in John 14:12:
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
So the point of everything he was doing was not so that we can idolize him and talk about how great it is, but so that we can be pushed to do more. There are so many ways to honor Christ and this is one of those ways. So believing in this Christ is so much more radical than simply “confessing with your mouth and believing with your heart that he is Lord”. It goes farther than that.
1 John 4:12 says:
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
This type of belief in Christ requires action. It requires love; and without love, there is no God being brought to full expression because love is the only way to make that happen.
There’s a scene near the end of the gospel of John where Jesus is hanging on the cross and his mother and the disciple, John are standing near him. He says to his mother, “Dear, woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And it says that John took her into his home from that time on. I believe this was Jesus doing the same thing I’ve been talking about. This was his mother and the disciple he loved the most standing here so both of them held Jesus closer than any of us. But Jesus is having them let go of him and turn to each other. He’s telling his mother “You were a mother to me while I was here but now you are a mother to him.” And he’s telling his disciple, “You served me while I was here but now you will serve her.” He was telling them “Let me go now, and go live out what I am.”
Interestingly, Batman has a very similar interaction with Commissioner Gordon before his sacrifice near the end of The Dark Knight Rises.
Commissioner Gordon: I never cared who you were.
Bruce Wayne: And you were right.
Commissioner Gordon: But shouldn’t the people know the hero who saved them?
Bruce Wayne: A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders, to let him know the world hadn’t ended.
The Resurrection of Jesus serves as a symbol for us, telling us “Anybody can do this. Anyone can do what I do, in bringing God into full expression through love. Even a mother, even a disciple, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders, to let him know the world hasn’t ended.” We live out the resurrection by bringing God into full expression through acts of love.
And this is what this world needs. We saw that even in the midnight premiere of the Dark Knight Rises with the horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado. This world needs people willing to live out the resurrection in a radical way, even when there are people who disagree. But Bruce Wayne and Officer Blake address that as well:
Blake: Well, it’s damn good to see him back.
Bruce Wayne: Not everybody agrees.
Blake: They’ll figure that out in the end.
Damon Garcia 
Ryan Hermann
/ April 1, 2013Great post! A good read
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 1, 2013Pop theology, sorry mate!
TheWordpressGhost
/ April 1, 2013Fr. Robert, How quickly Colossians 1: 15 – 20 fades from memory. Ghost.
originalwomanempowerment
/ April 2, 2013“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 2, 2013Indeed we must seek a “Biblical” theology and study, i.e. position! In Colossians we have by revelation the doctrine of Jesus Christ as Lord, and preeminent over all creation, and Lord over all human rulers and cosmic powers! Christians are to hold fast to Christ, who IS the Head of the Body…”from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.” (Col. 2: 19, etc.) And Colossians like Galatians proclaims our freedom from the “elements”, or “rudiments”, of the world! Again, “holding fast the Head (which is Christ)”.
TheWordpressGhost
/ April 2, 2013I have been studying psychological disorders. And it would seem they are slowly moving the definition of disorders to always include Christians ….
😉
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 2, 2013Well even Christians still live in this fallen world or age, and therefore can be subject to its sin and temptations, “the world, the flesh and the devil”! Of course we “have” our life and victory ‘In Christ’, but we must “put on Christ” in this time! Again, as Paul can write: “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Rom. 13: 11-14, ESV)
The Christian lives in the eschatological (end-time) tension of the ‘all ready but not yet’, but always still ‘In Christ’! (Rom. 8: 18-25) And again, this is a “disordered” and sinful age! (Gal. 1:4) But Christ is the Victor! 🙂
TheWordpressGhost
/ April 2, 2013Yes He is!
Who first said, “already, but not yet?”
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 3, 2013I believe the first so-called theologian to make this theological statement was the American George Eldon Ladd. And since, it has been used by many of us others… the “already but not yet” of the eschaton!
becomingcliche
/ April 1, 2013Beautifully said. It doesn’t stop at belief! We have the great commission.
xdanigirl
/ April 1, 2013What an interesting comparison!! I would have never thought of it like that!!
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed as well!
tomicusmaximus
/ April 1, 2013I like this comparison with batman. I havn’t seen the movie yet but I get what your saying. So often Christians hold up Jesus as Lord and the final judge of mankind, but not as an example to strive to be like. He didn’t come to save the rightouss, he came to save the sinner. What Christ said should be the most important thing to anyone who calls themself a Christian. Dont just take what the religous leaders say to be true. Christ warns about this in Matt23. Everyone has the power to discern good from evil!
Tim Shey
/ April 1, 2013There is definitely a great divide between people who live the Gospel and those who merely have an intellectual assent of the Gospel. It is the difference between someone who is surrendered to Christ and lives the Resurrection everyday and the Christian Pharisee: heaven and hell. Christian Pharisees are the most dangerous people on this earth—they will kill your spirit.
“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
“Clint Eastwood’s film High Plains Drifter (1973)”
http://tim-shey.blogspot.com/2010/03/clint-eastwoods-high-plains-drifter.html
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 2, 2013St. Paul was always the Jewish-Christian Pharisee, Acts 23: 6, etc. He saw that being a “Pharisee” as a Jewish Christian profoundly meant ‘one who was a “servant-slave” of Christ Jesus, “a called apostle”…having been “set apart” (Pharisee, the etymology of the word means separation to God) for the gospel of God.’ (Rom. 1:1)
Invisible Mikey
/ April 1, 2013I’m with the guy above who called this “pop theology”. I do like looking for spiritual dimensions in film stories, but “The Dark Knight Rises” has the least depth of ideas of the three films in Nolan’s Batman trilogy. I’ll admit to a bias against relying on the Gospel of John too, since it was written long after the other ones as apologia, to settle dogmatic conflicts within the early church. It’s not the “deep” Gospel – it’s the one with the easy answers, spelling it all out to prevent the contemplation of mystery.
Damon
/ April 1, 2013It’s funny because I usually have the same biases; biases that I received while studying Gnosticism and everything certain scholars say about how John just wrote to disprove them. But for some reason the gospel of John keeps calling me back so I’m not ready to throw it out completely.
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 1, 2013B.F. Westcott’s Commentary: The Gospel According To St. John (1881) is still very good! Though the newer (2010) NICNT of John (Eerdmans), by J. Ramsey Michaels is also very good too! (Yes, I am myself a conservative Anglican Reformed)
lawrenceofcanadia
/ April 1, 2013Bravo, taking the story of the Resurrection and using a modern theme to translate it to the youngsters. I’m not religious but I appreciate the message of Jesus.
whathappenedtomycrazylife
/ April 1, 2013Love it! So well-said!
Richard Medernach
/ April 1, 2013Interesting post and well written. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
aspiringlily
/ April 1, 2013I hope you don’t mind me blogging this everywhere! It’s amazing and the wording is lovely. I hated the movie but I love your reference. You are now someone I’m following!
adrianvstheworld
/ April 1, 2013This is beautiful. Made me wanna revisit The Dark Knight Rises once again. Thank you for this.
segmation
/ April 1, 2013I am still looking for that Dark Knight that has risen!
mithriluna
/ April 1, 2013Well thought out and well written post. “We live out the resurrection by bringing God into full expression through acts of love.” I love that line. Thanks for spreading the Resurrection message! Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed! God bless you and Happy Easter!
Jason Ministries
/ April 1, 2013Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:40) Enjoyed your post. 🙂
takethestep
/ April 1, 2013Great words … not a Batman fan, but I am a Jesus fan! He set the example – it is about love and action, “Gods love being brought into full expression.” Your words make a good point – well written!”
melanielynngriffin
/ April 1, 2013Hi – I haven’t seen the movie and probably won’t, Batman not being my thing. But I am highly amused by the commenters above who say your post is “pop theology.” WHAT?? I hear you saying, “Love one another and serve one another.” Seems like I’ve read that somewhere before – oh yeah, the Bible. This is the essence of the gospel, not pop anything.
One of them also says that the book of John, recognized as the deepest and most mystical of the Gospels, is shallow and gives easy answers. Has he ever read the Book of John? It’s the most mysterious of all writings! Oh well, to each their own. I suppose my take on Easter must be downright sacrilegious:
http://melanielynngriffin.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/six-tips-on-how-to-rise-from-the-dead/
Congrats on the Freshly Pressed!
Damon
/ April 1, 2013The gospel of John always seems to be the most debated because it’s the most different. But so was John, right?!
melanielynngriffin
/ April 1, 2013By far my favorite!
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 2, 2013The Gospel of John stands upon its own, and really in many ways most separate from the Synoptics! And in certain ways it is the most Spiritual Gospel! Historicity and Symbolism, the Signs, and of course Christological interpretation, or revelation. But finally, the Gospel of Salvation, (John 20: 31). Btw, note some of the “Johannine” in Matthew’s Gospel, (11: 27).
Yes, perhaps my favorite Gospel also! 😉
Noel
/ April 1, 2013This is an outstanding post! Not just because I am also a big fan of the Batman, but mainly because this is exactly the same theme of my blog. You are absolutely right, we should live the Resurrection of Jesus by loving each other as He commanded us to. I love the paraphrasing that you used when Jesus was talking to Mary and John, “Let me go now, and go live out what I am.” Beautiful! Would you mind me adding your blog to my blog roll list?
Damon
/ April 1, 2013I wouldn’t mind at all! Thank you so much! 🙂
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 1, 2013Btw, I myself love the Gospel of John, and following the great British Anglican scholar John A. T. Robinson (died in 1983), I see the Gospel of John written earlier than all the other Gospels (see Robinson’s book: The Priority of John). In fact Robinson believed the whole NT was written before 70 AD, and the fall of Jerusalem. And John A.T. Robinson was no classic conservative, being the writer of that once great provocative book: Honest to God! But he was a scholar and real professional theologian, and saw the great significance of 70 AD and when the NT was written, before such, as there is no reference to the great Fall of Jerusalem in the NT canon! Of course this was Robinson’s supposition, see his book: Redating the New Testament, (1976, SCM). Re-published by Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, Oregon.
Rev. Dr. Robert K. Darby (Anglican),
D. Phil., Th.D.
Damon
/ April 1, 2013Very interesting. I’ll be sure to check that out. Thank you!
Do I Have My Keys?
/ April 1, 2013Very interesting perspective on one of my favorite movies.
andy1076
/ April 1, 2013What a way to see a viewpoint via a great movie, thank you for sharing 🙂
earthstonestation
/ April 1, 2013Well done and much appreciated. Love the photo – which is what drew me in
3strandmarriage
/ April 1, 2013Great photo – Yes, what our focus should be all year. Are we taking up our own cross? Are we living the life He intended. Well written.
optimisticgladness
/ April 1, 2013This is just terrific! What a contemporary way to look at the resurrection and apply it to us today. Brilliant.
Betty Jo
/ April 2, 2013I so very much enjoyed reading your blog post. It is exactly what I’ve been thinking about since church Sunday (well, not the batman part). 🙂
moodsnmoments
/ April 2, 2013a phenomenal comparison. explains the concept so well – all the world needs is, hope and faith. excellent work. Kudos!
agatapokutycka
/ April 2, 2013Good read, thank you
Michele McGovern
/ April 2, 2013Awesome. All the way around. Good job!
Shannon
/ April 2, 2013Wonderful! Thank you…
bearshouse
/ April 2, 2013The work is there to do. Follow the Ways of the Spirit. not just worship
livetotelltheworld
/ April 2, 2013Great post, very well thought out and insightful!:)
iammade4moreru
/ April 2, 2013Living our faith is what is all about – faith without works is dead. This post was a great way to say it in a contemporary way.
http://iammade4more.wordpress.com/
Now following you!
roosimpson
/ April 2, 2013This is so tight!!!! Thank you for helping me realize all of this and tying the importance of the resurrection to one of the things I love! Like batman!
Mr. Atheist
/ April 2, 2013Did you pull a muscle?
wordshereandthere
/ April 3, 2013Reblogged this on snehafatehpuria18.
lexborgia
/ April 3, 2013I have posed several questions to christians on my blog, and made many accusations and lampooned Religion, yet noone ever seems to want to answer. Maybe you can. It is said, ‘Jesus died on the cross for my sins, he was crucified in my place.’ Okay. I wasn’t alive back then, and as far as history shows, Jesus was crucified for the crime of Sedition against Rome, the equivalent of terrorism today. What did I do in my present life to cause Jesus death by the Roman Occupation? 2. The countless 1000s of others who were also crucified throughout the length and breath of Rome’s dominion; what or who did they die for? Why is Jesus death sentence for crimes against Rome significant and theirs wasn’t? Can someone please answer! Thanks.
Damon
/ April 3, 2013Lots of Christians may have sounded like they described the crucifixion as something that GOD needed; as something that he needed to do in order to get over our sins and stop being so mad at us all the time. But I view the crucifixion as something that was completely done for US. Sin is a greek word that means to ‘miss the mark’. So I view sin as anything we purposely do to miss the mark and go off the path that God has for us. So I believe ALL sin stems from a heart of being discontent with what God has given us. Being discontent is strongly connected to wanting what others have. And that desire ultimately leads to violence. You might have heard about ancient cultures who used the scapegoat mechanism to settle violence and rivalry. They would take an innocent victim and pile the entire community’s sins on that person and sacrifice them; releasing the pressure of the entire community’s wrongs. So through Jesus, God comes down to be this scapegoat for us. He lived a perfect and innocent life so he proved to be the ultimate scapegoat that exposed US as guilty. So I believe God views us as free from the guilt of sin because he wants us to pile our sins on Jesus, the last scapegoat. And as for your other question, Jesus was the only one that died as an innocent man and his only crimes were saying he was the Son of God so they accused him of blasphemy. I hope this all helps somewhat.
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 3, 2013St. John called Jesus Christ: “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1: 29) And St. Paul also said, “the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward (at His death) as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Rom. 3:24-25) We should also read and note Romans and the whole of verses 3: 25 thru 26. The value of the life and death of Jesus Christ lies in His eternal Person, and thus work at Calvary, again a holy “expiation” and God’s satisfaction and atonement for sin! But, only the chosen or “elect” souls believe. These are the “whosoever” of John 3: 16.
*Note, I am something of a neo-Calvinist. 😉
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 3, 2013The Death of Christ was sufficient for all people, but it is only efficient or efficacious for those true elect/chosen believers.
Tidbitter
/ April 3, 2013Not an easy one to answer on a comment response box. I wish we were having coffee together, but I’ll try to answer your question.
Is it true that I’m seeing in your question above, ‘Look, what does Jesus dying on a Roman cross 2000 years ago have to do with me?’
-Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind.(every single person who had or would or does live now)
-We allowed sin to enter our world back in the Garden (see Genesis 2&3, and we have a blog post on our site, The Disappointing)
-Now every single person born into this life has an inherited sinful nature.
-That very sin-filled nature separates us from God. He is Holy and without sin
-To be with God forever, to go to Heaven, (it’s not a default place) you need to be holy and perfect, because remember God is, and one can’t have their sins and be with God.
-So God made a way, His Son Jesus, who was sinless, and was crucified, yes, on a Roman cross, to die in our place. To die for every single one of us. Remember on the cross, God turned His face away. Jesus said, “why have you forsaken me?”
He wasn’t a terrorist. The Bible says He went willingly. He had a following which the lame religious leaders of the day were jealous of. He claimed to be the One True God, being one with His Father, and Jesus claimed to be the only way into Heaven (a hugely unpopular viewpoint in 2013, but we believe entirely)
John 10:30, John 14:9, John 1:10, John 3:3-8, John 3:16-21..etc.
-Jesus’ death bridged a gap for all who realize their need to be forgiven. We are not perfect, but true followers of Him try and live as righteous of lives as possible. We pray, we attend church not because this saves us, but because we learn, and because of Jesus’ blood spilled on that cross, when we die, we see God, Jesus, His Spirit, and Heaven.
So, was this about you? Yep. And me. And your sin. and mine. Enough sentence fragments…Every one of us makes a choice to claim what Jesus said as truth, or to deny His claims. I wrote about this on MisunderstoodGod. Read Good Guy, Goon, or God, and Is The Bible True…We write about the answers to these questions on our site. I’m not self promoting, just giving you an article that expounds more on what I’ve just barely touched on here.
I hope I haven’t confused you more. Gotta go get some more coffee. Blessings!
Tidbitter
/ April 3, 2013Oh, and question #2 for Lexborgia…people were normally crucified for various crimes. Uprisings against Rome, theft, murder, etc. They had a form of law and a court system, and unless crucified unjustly, they died as a form of capital punishment for their crime(s).
Jesus’ sentence to death was due to appeasement. Jesus’ sentence was for a claim of the supernatural. He claimed to be God, to do miracles in the name of God. This was blasphemy. The Jewish people, living under a heavy yoke of the Roman government were disillusioned to Jesus being the long-awaited messiah. They were looking for the strong orator, wealthy in friends, benefactors, and a figurative white horse. One who would sweep in and gather the suffering, lessen the Roman taxes, and fling wide the gates of Roman oppression. How dare this man, a carpenter, poor in wealth and family affiliation ride in on Palm Sunday on the colt of a donkey! They wanted an even better Barak Obama, but they got a Joe Shmoe. Or so they thought. He was a slap in the face of their ideology…So they crucified Him. They chanted, and yelled so loud the governors and senators said they found no fault in Him, but to do as the crowd wished. Must have been an election year.
To answer your question, my friend, it wasn’t so significant His sentence, but the significance is Him.
Becoming Whole
/ April 3, 2013What a great way to incorporate the meaning of the resurrection into popular culture. Paul talks about “becoming all things to all men,” and I think that you have taken this idea and stated it beautifully. I look forward to reading more!
JudahFirst
/ April 3, 2013A beautiful commentary on what the power of the resurrection is FOR. Thank you, God bless!
dwayneschwarz
/ April 3, 2013Reblogged this on positivethoughts4u.
Jay Moli
/ April 3, 2013Wow! this is a very powerful metaphor. I like the way how make make the comparison. Youths would actually understand it better. 🙂
hippychristiangirl
/ April 3, 2013Great metaphor. I haven’t actually seen the last Batman because I struggled with the previous one. Now I’m interested because I see the interesting crossover. Thanks!
whenur64
/ April 4, 2013Mama mia!!!!!! what a wonderful piece of writing…and even more than that, what a wonderful insight about HIS resurrection…our resurrection! THANK YOU on this Easter Thursday!!!!!
Andy
/ April 4, 2013Jesus is not merely a symbol for us. He is the King of the universe. His death and resurrection are not just symbols for us so we can be kind to strangers. And not just “anyone” could have died for us. It took a sinless sacrifice. This post seems to have a low opinion of who Jesus is.
Damon
/ April 4, 2013The point I was trying to make is that he is both
irishanglican ~ Fr. Robert
/ April 4, 2013Christ is the real and only Archetype! (Heb. 12: 1-2)
http://mindinternational.co.uk
/ April 4, 2013We are intrigued as well as interested in what you’re talking about the following.
pamela
/ April 4, 2013Interesting insights. I love it when you can gain a new perspective on Biblical matters from mainstream/secular sources…proves that you don’t necessarily leave your faith at the theatre door.
OyiaBrown
/ April 5, 2013Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
nktvb
/ April 5, 2013Reblogged this on a**hole diaries and commented:
Change of Perspective . . .