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When you need a real hero to save the world - Who do you call?
“You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.” - Superman to Lois Lane
What our world needs right now is a REAL, living Superman-a rare superhero whose strength of power equals his strength of character.
No, I’m not talking about the comic book superhero. As good and as powerful as he is, we know that he’s not a real person.
I’m talking about the original “Man of Steel”-the real, living Messiah.
While all analogies ultimately break down, there are striking parallels between Superman and the Son of God. Here are ten:
Screenwriter for “Man of Steel,” David Goyer, said: “We didn’t come up with these allusions of Superman being Christ-like, that’s something that’s been embedded in the character from the beginning.”
Film director Zack Snyder admitted: “I think the relationship between Jesus and Superman is not a thing we invented in this film, it is a thing that has been talked about since the creation of Superman,” (“Man of Steel: The Top Twenty Reasons Superman is Jesus ,” Metro.co.uk, June 11, 2013).
The real story of the true Messiah, properly understood, is more inspiring than Superman mythology any day of the week.
You and I live in a world of constant trouble and danger. Terrorism and war are daily realities in our present world. Crime, suffering, and evil figure into our daily news headlines. Where is “Superman” when we need him the most?
If there ever was a time in our planet’s history when we needed more hope, it is now . This partly explains the success of such superhero blockbuster movies as “Man of Steel,” which conquered at the box office during the U.S. premiere with a $125 million gross in ticket sales (Derrick J. Lang, “ 'Man of Steel’ Takes Flight With $125M Debut,” IndyStar.com, June 16, 2013).
For some people, Superman is way cooler than Jesus Christ. Superman wears a fancy cape and always appears to save the day, while Jesus seems to allow suffering and doesn’t always prevent the car accidents, tornadoes, floods, wars, and terrorist attacks so often in the news. To some He doesn’t seem as relevant to our world.
The fact is, many people don’t know who the real Jesus Christ is. They don’t know what in the world God is doing-and why He continues to allow evil and suffering. Why hasn’t He intervened yet?
Christ’s true identity has been buried and hidden under several layers of myth and tradition. Some even go so far as to deny that He really existed, supposing that Jesus is just as much a fictional creation as Superman.
For the many who believe He really existed, He has often been stereotyped as a teacher of good moral truths, but one who was a long-haired, effeminate weakling. A loser. He was killed by the Jews and the Romans two thousand years ago, and is still portrayed as hanging on a wooden cross, dead and helpless. If He couldn’t even save Himself, how could He possibly save us? Some have even irreverently suggested that Superman could beat up Jesus.
Let’s get one thing straight: Jesus Christ is alive today! Yet Superman only lives in the imagination of his fans. He is, at best, a Christ-figure. That is as different as night and day. One is real, while the other is fiction.
So what is the real story of the origin of Christ?
God (the Father) and the Word-the One who later became the Son of God, Jesus Christ-eternally existed long before there ever was a universe, long before there ever was a single angel, long before there ever was a single human being. They conceived the wonderful plan of bringing “many sons [and daughters] to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). They chose to increase the size of their Family of divine, immortal spirit beings by creating mortals after Their own image and likeness, endowed with free will.
Before this was put into action, one of the top three archangels, Lucifer, got wind of the plan for divine expansion and-filled with jealousy and envy-turned one third of all the angels, those under his charge, in rebellion against God. He led a cosmic coup d’état in a vain attempt to seize control of the reigns of the universe. But, overpowered by Jesus Christ Himself, he was kicked out of heaven and thrown down to planet Earth, where he and his demons are presently carrying out their evil work of deception and destruction among human beings.
To destroy Satan’s work and rescue humanity, God sent the Word to Earth to be supernaturally conceived and born of a virgin as the baby Jesus, and raised by a faithful, upright couple, to be the Light for humanity and to announce the coming Kingdom of God. He would then have to resist evil, defeating Satan’s twisted way of life, to live a sinless life, and then suffer and die to pay for the sins of all mankind (John 1:1-14, Matthew 1:18-25).
Satan thought he had scored a decisive victory when Jesus died. But three days and three nights later, God brought Jesus back to His immortal life and glory, to be the Mediator between God and men, as well as Captain of Salvation for every mortal human who would also make the same choice as Christ to reject Satan’s ways, values, and influence, and to believe and follow Christ in loving obedience.
Jesus Christ then ascended into the third heaven, at the right hand of God the Father, where He is presently awaiting His return to our planet-no longer as a suffering human Servant-but as the ever-triumphant, all-powerful divine Messiah who will vanquish His enemies, including Satan and his wicked demons, and establish the everlasting Kingdom of God. He will come back as the powerful “Superman” this world has been waiting for all along-the only One who can actually stop crime, nuclear war, terrorism, starvation, corruption, and all the evils in our society.
Yes, He will be faster, stronger, and greater than the comic book Superman. He will be “the real deal”-the real Man of Steel. As much as we love the Superman character, we only have one true Superhero, Jesus the coming Messiah. But more than that, He will be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He will rule the world in total righteousness, justice, peace, and prosperity.
God loves you and me. He cares about this planet and its inhabitants-every last one of them. He is not willing that any should perish. On His first coming, He sent Jesus to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death. On His second coming, He will send Christ again to literally save us from ourselves. At that time, the world will be standing at the brink of nuclear annihilation and global catastrophe.
Better than any Superman story, don’t you think? Because, unlike the comic books or the movies, this is the real story.
To know more about the original Man of Steel, please read the free Bible study aid, Jesus Christ: The Real Story.
“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)
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