The Real Superhero

by Brandy Webb

Movies love superheroes. They draw in great crowds of all ages because who doesn’t like superheroes? Kids idealize them to the point of dressing up like them and pretending to be them. This is no surprise because superheroes are cool and powerful. They usually have powers that defy human physics, or they are so smart they can create a suit that makes them a superhero. They protect the innocent and defeat the evil. They are courageous. They also are in great shape. And last but not least, they save the day, always.

Now, what if I told you that there was a human that walked the earth that was super powerful, but at the time didn’t use his powers to save the day. In fact, he most likely was not this gorgeous person that people admired. He most likely didn’t have kids wanting to pretend to be like him. However, he could defy human limitations. He will one day defeat all evil, and when He saves the day the whole world will know it. I know you are smart enough to know that I am talking about our Savior Jesus, but have you ever thought about how powerful He was when He was a mortal human being?

I won’t list them all, but here are a few of Jesus’ miracles: turns water into wine (John 2:1-11); heals people of all different types of ailments (Matt 8; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 5:17-26; and many other places); miraculously feeds thousands of people with a small amount of fish and bread (Matt 14:15-21; 15:32-39); raises people from the dead (Luke 7:11-17; Matt 9:18, 23-26; John 11:1-46)…. There are many more miracles, from making the blind see to the deaf hear and removing demonic spirits. He even defied physics by walking on water. In fact, the Gospels list at least thirty-seven miracles, and we also know that according to John there are many more things that Jesus did, but if they were all written down there would not be enough room in the world for all the books (John 21:25).

Therefore, Jesus was a superhero, and many people did flock to see Him. However, the majority did not. In fact, the majority of the populace hated Him. He left heaven and became a man, coming “to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). According to Isaiah, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isa 53:2b). He was rejected by many; unlike the make believe superheroes of our day. Yet, He is not a make believe superhero. He is real.

Another thing that is really striking to me about Jesus is that despite how powerful He was, He never used His power to make His life easier. I want you to think about that for a moment and ask yourself, if you had just a little of His power, would you be willing not to use it to make your life easier? Do you also realize that when He was being betrayed in Gethsemane He points out that if He wanted to stop what was about to happen to Him, He could? He states that He could ask for help from His Father, and God the Father would “even now send me more than twelve legions of angels” (Matt 23:53). A legion by some commentators amounts to 6,000 troops, so that would mean 72,000 angel soldiers. I didn’t notice this until I read some interesting facts about Jesus in a book called Inside the Mysteries of the Bible by American Bible Society. Don’t get me wrong, I have read through the Gospels many times, but I always miss something. And when I became aware of this, I realized that Jesus wasn’t just a healer, teacher, wine-maker, or death-defier, He was truly God in the flesh, and He didn’t have to do what He did. 

God the Father and God Jesus could have just started all over. Jesus could have done what the superheroes do in the movies, destroy the enemies, right then, but He didn’t because He wanted to save everyone. If you had that power would you withhold it to save your enemies? Would you restrain from the temptation of destroying evil, in hopes that maybe some of them would repent and change their ways? I don’t know if I could, but I know that in order to walk in the Messiah’s footsteps, I’d better learn how to put others before myself. I’d better learn that winning isn’t always what is important, and sometimes losing so that others may win may be more rewarding. In other words, I’d better try to mimic my Messiah by dressing up in His word and walking in His steps because He is the real superhero.