He didn't just walk on water

A group from Kaw Prairie’s WILD youth group drove over to Theater in the Park last Sunday night to see the famous musical Jesus Christ Superstar—but due to gathering lightening in the sky, the theater stopped the show right as Jesus was arriving at King Herod’s palace for his famous interview. (I was bummed because that was the part of the musical I remember best from hearing in my childhood: So if you are the Christ, Yes the great Jesus Christ, Prove to me that you're no fool, Walk across my swimming pool) What an awesome line!

As we were started hurriedly packing up our lawnchairs and coolers, we stood and offered our applause for the hardworking, gifted castmembers—and reactions started bubbling up from the teens: “That was cool.” “That was weird.” And of course, “Can we stop at McDonalds?”

And then, from a distant part of the crowd came an indignant woman’s voice: “I hated the whole thing!” Well, that got everybody’s attention. And it set the tone for the conversation in the van I was driving back to church.

“Well, what did you think of it, guys?” I asked. “It was weird,” came a voice from behind. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so modern,” someone mumbled. “Jesus was very conflicted,” offered a thoughtful observer. “He didn’t seem like, very much Godlike.” Overall, not a very upbeat theater review.

So we spent the short ride back to church talking about how Christians believe Jesus was both fully divine and fully human. And, like the Gospels in Scripture, the musical gave lots of attention to how human Jesus really was. Fully human, in fact. In the ancient world, unlike in ours, early Christians had no doubt that Jesus was fully divine. He’d not only worked powerful miracles and healings, but post-resurrection sightings of Jesus before His ascension were common, and historically well-attested. So trying to prove Jesus’ divinity wasn’t all that necessary. Indeed, the heresy called Arianism developed early on, denying that Jesus was human at all!

Proving his humanity, however, was—-and that’s why the Spirit inspired the earliest Gospel writers to reveal more of Jesus’ human nature than popular culture was focusing on. And in some ways, that seems to be the theological position of Superstar: despite the delight Broadway surely takes in pushing the envelope of convention, the musical does in fact affirm that Jesus was the lynchpin part of God’s salvation plan—and by inference, that He was indeed divine. But most of all, it strives to explore the likely conflict and tension within the human part of Jesus—in a way that can make us Christians feel pretty uncomfortable (mad enough to shout at the stage even!)

But why should Christians be so offended by Jesus’ deep and real humanity? The fact that Jesus knew our passions, pains, despair, and grief—and hopefully lots of our joys as well!—makes me all the more awestruck that He sacrificed His life for mine. Jesus willingly gave up His one chance to live a long and rewarding human life so that yours and mine wouldn’t end in a hellish separation from God. And that makes me want to shout with thanks to God, not my fist at the stage.

If there is a way, take this cup away from me!
For I don't want to taste its poison, feel it burn me.
I have changed: I'm not as sure as when we started.
Then I was inspired; now I'm sad and tired.
Listen: surely I've exceeded expectations—
Tried for three years, seems like thirty!
Could you ask as much from any other man?

(JCS, Gethsemane)