We're All Humans, Aren't We?

Condescending Love, Pt. 1

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

– Matthew 27:39-44

Today I’d like to talk about Superman.

Yes, THAT Superman, otherwise known as Kal-El, son of Jor-El, formerly of Krypton. He who is the defender of Truth, Justice and the American Way who is faster than a speeding bullet and can leap over buildings in a single bound.

My wife and I recently watched the most recent Superman film, Man of Steel. (Yes, we’re behind with our movies; life changes when you have children!) The movie itself was a decent way to spend a couple of quiet hours. There were a few problems I had with the movie, but I’m not going to spend time on this blog geeking out about them. Instead, I’d like to talk about a particular scene that really stood out for me. The scene in question begins with Superman walking in an army base in handcuffs after voluntarily surrendering himself to the American government.

Never mind that I can totally snap these handcuffs in two and fly out of here with no problem!

Before I start dissecting this scene, I want to clarify that I am usually leery of inserting subtext in literature or movies or any other forms of art, especially subtext that the creator did not intend to be there. Despite being invented with Jewish subtext by two Jewish teenagers, Superman in recent history has become more associated with themes that are found in Christianity. Man of Steel paints Superman with a heavy messianic brush, laying on the Superman-as-Jesus metaphor pretty thick. Most of it is not done subtly and not all of it works. (For instance, Superman doesn’t die, unlike Christ.)

Case in point, there is a scene that takes place just before the scene that I’m going to talk about. Superman, as his alter-ego Clark Kent, shows up at a church and asks a priest whether or not he should reveal who he really is to the world. The mise-en-scène is not accidental as you can see below.

Even Jesus had a red cape too!

In fact, in doing research for this post, I found out that Warner Bros., the film studio who released the movie, went so far to create material for pastors to use for their sermons using Man of Steel as illustration. Yes, really.

Having shown that the filmmakers intentionally were making parallels between Christ and Superman, I feel comfortable moving on to analyze what I think is the movie’s most striking image: Superman in handcuffs. (Indeed, this image was used as the poster, as you can see here.) If you know anything about the mythology of Superman and all of his superpowers, you would know that the idea of Superman being bound to human handcuffs is a laughable one. Yet, it’s a provocative one. Why would a superhero be willing to allow himself to be handcuffed and be taken captive by the American government?

The movie addresses this with a quick conversation between Superman and Lois Lane, a reporter who knows Superman’s real identity and power.

Lois Lane: Why are you surrendering to Zod [the movie villain who has demanded the world turn over Superman]?
Clark Kent: I’m surrendering to mankind, there’s a difference.
Lois Lane: You let them handcuff you?
Clark Kent: Wouldn’t be much of a surrender if I resisted. And if it makes them feel more secure, then… then all the better for it.

This scene, to me, was a great visual example of what Stephen Charnock called “condescending love.” He wrote, “That God upon a throne should be an infant in a cradle; the thundering Creator be a weeping babe and a suffering man, are such expressions of mighty power, as well as condescending love, that they astonish men upon earth, and angels in heaven.”

It also took me back to the passage in Matthew that I quoted above. Imagine that you’re at the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion and you hear the people surrounding the cross along with the elders cracking wise to Jesus who has his hands and feet nailed firmly to the cross, “If you’re really God, like you claim to be, then come on, get off the cross and get down!”

What they don’t realize – and what we, ourselves, often forget – is that Jesus is God Himself poured in the form of a human who is fully man and fully God. He is a true super man, one who has a supernatural understanding of the world. He has literally raised people from the dead and quieted a storm. Of course He could get down off the cross! Of course, He could pull himself free from the nails holding him down and climb down! After raising someone from the dead, I don’t think it wouldn’t be much to be able to do that.

How we answer this question determines a lot of things, including how we understand God’s love for us.

Knowing that the awe, authority and power of the Creator of the Universe resides with Jesus, you know that the idea of Jesus being bound to a wooden cross with human nails is a laughable one. Yet, just like Superman in handcuffs, it’s a provocative idea. Why would Jesus, the son of God, be willing to allow Himself to be handcuffed to the cross and taken captive by the Jewish government?

How we answer this question determines a lot of things, including how we understand God’s love for us and how that impacts our life, our views and how we interact with the world.

Meditate about this over the weekend and I’ll explore more of this topic next week. Have a great weekend!