In this life so many of us try to get revenge in various ways for hurts and injuries. It is very difficult not to return hurt for hurt or wrong for wrong, but we are expected as Christians to allow God to do His work.
The dialogue below is from the 1959 Academy Award winning movie Ben Hur which I wrote about in an earlier post.
Judah Ben-Hur: I must deal with Messala in my own way.
Balthasar: And your way is to kill him. [pause, Judah looks at Balthasar]
Balthasar: I see this terrible thing in your eyes, Judah Ben-Hur, but no matter what this man has done to you, you have no right to take his life. He will be punished inevitably.
Judah Ben-Hur: I don't believe in miracles.
Balthasar: Your whole life is a miracle! Why will you not accept God's judgement?
Vengeance is God's work and he will deal with those who commit wrongs and injustices. Read about God's revenge on the link Desiring God.
Showing posts with label Ben Hur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Hur. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Monday, December 24, 2007
Jesus Is the Reason For the Season
A movie that really should be shown for the Christmas season but has always been overlooked at that time is Ben Hur.
While I was growing up every Easter The Ten Commandments, another one of my favorite Biblical epics from the latter part of Hollywood's Golden Age, was shown very year. I would eagerly watch the four movie on TV. It wasn't until I was an adult that I saw the 1959 version of Ben Hur for the first time. The is also a 1925 silent version of the film which is also a masterpiece of filmmaking; I have also seen it.
Ben Hur was adapted from the novel Ben Hur: The Tale of The Christ by General Lew Wallace, which I have also read. As a new Christian I watched the 1959 version of the film over and over, and the message of the film became engrained in my thoughts on how a person can overcome impossible odds through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Even though Jesus was rarely physically near in the lives of Judah Ben Hur and his family during their darkiest and most tragic times, he was actually working to save them physically and spiritually.
The movie Ben Hur, which stars Charlton Heston, received many Academy Awards and is one of the greatest films of all time begins with the born of Jesus Christ. This is the scene.
At the same time that Jesus Christ, the Peace of Peace, is being born somewhere in Judea another baby is born named Judah Ben Hur. Judah is also a prince, but unlike Jesus who is born in a cave used as a stable, Judah is born into a family of wealth and priviledge. Years later when Judah and his family is betrayed by his childhood best friend the leader of the Roman garrison, Masala, Judah learns fast that his position will not save him from being condemned to be a galley slave and keeping his mother and sister from being confined to the dungeon of the Fortess of Antonia. On his forced trek to the galleys, Judah encounters Jesus for the first time in this powerful scene.
Throughout the four years that Judah survives the galleys, a feat that few could, he vows to get revenge for the destruction of his family. All the time Jesus that is God is working in his life and is keeping him alive, not fate.
Once Judah gets his revenge, he realizes that it is not sweet. He learns that his mother and sister have become lepers and live in a cave with many other lepers in the Valley of the Lepers. One day Judah follows his former slave and the woman he loves Esther to the Valley of the Lepers where she secretly goes to give Judah's mother and sister food. Esther who has often talked to Judah about "the young rabbi" (Jesus) who teaches love and forgiveness has sworn to Judah's mother Miriam and his sister Tirzah that she would never tell Judah that they have survived imprisonment and are now lepers. But Judah finds out and together they all go to find Jesus in the hope that He can save Tirzah who is dying. As it turns out on the day they seek Him out, Jesus is on trial and has been condemned to be crucified. All hope seems to be lost. However, as Jesus is being forced pass them carrying the Cross, Judah's compassionate gesture to the Man who gave him a gourd of water on his march to the galleries and Miriam's, Tirzah's, and Esther's sorrow and shock for the injustice of Jesus' treatment brings about a miracle that can be seen in this clip from the final scene of the movie.
The best version to see Ben Hur in is letter box, so you will not miss anything.
In his death on the Cross, Jesus has the power to change lives. Even though He is not physically with us today, He still has the power to change lives. His life was about loving, giving, and commpassion. His death came about because of jealousy, envy, and the inability of a group of people to face the truth about who He was and what He stood for. But in the end He triumphed because His death was a sacrifice for all humankind to be rescued from the darkness and horror of sin. He is not a prophet as some think, He is the Son of God and He unlike any other prophet still lives.
Jesus IS the reason for the season.
While I was growing up every Easter The Ten Commandments, another one of my favorite Biblical epics from the latter part of Hollywood's Golden Age, was shown very year. I would eagerly watch the four movie on TV. It wasn't until I was an adult that I saw the 1959 version of Ben Hur for the first time. The is also a 1925 silent version of the film which is also a masterpiece of filmmaking; I have also seen it.
Ben Hur was adapted from the novel Ben Hur: The Tale of The Christ by General Lew Wallace, which I have also read. As a new Christian I watched the 1959 version of the film over and over, and the message of the film became engrained in my thoughts on how a person can overcome impossible odds through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Even though Jesus was rarely physically near in the lives of Judah Ben Hur and his family during their darkiest and most tragic times, he was actually working to save them physically and spiritually.
The movie Ben Hur, which stars Charlton Heston, received many Academy Awards and is one of the greatest films of all time begins with the born of Jesus Christ. This is the scene.
At the same time that Jesus Christ, the Peace of Peace, is being born somewhere in Judea another baby is born named Judah Ben Hur. Judah is also a prince, but unlike Jesus who is born in a cave used as a stable, Judah is born into a family of wealth and priviledge. Years later when Judah and his family is betrayed by his childhood best friend the leader of the Roman garrison, Masala, Judah learns fast that his position will not save him from being condemned to be a galley slave and keeping his mother and sister from being confined to the dungeon of the Fortess of Antonia. On his forced trek to the galleys, Judah encounters Jesus for the first time in this powerful scene.
Throughout the four years that Judah survives the galleys, a feat that few could, he vows to get revenge for the destruction of his family. All the time Jesus that is God is working in his life and is keeping him alive, not fate.
Once Judah gets his revenge, he realizes that it is not sweet. He learns that his mother and sister have become lepers and live in a cave with many other lepers in the Valley of the Lepers. One day Judah follows his former slave and the woman he loves Esther to the Valley of the Lepers where she secretly goes to give Judah's mother and sister food. Esther who has often talked to Judah about "the young rabbi" (Jesus) who teaches love and forgiveness has sworn to Judah's mother Miriam and his sister Tirzah that she would never tell Judah that they have survived imprisonment and are now lepers. But Judah finds out and together they all go to find Jesus in the hope that He can save Tirzah who is dying. As it turns out on the day they seek Him out, Jesus is on trial and has been condemned to be crucified. All hope seems to be lost. However, as Jesus is being forced pass them carrying the Cross, Judah's compassionate gesture to the Man who gave him a gourd of water on his march to the galleries and Miriam's, Tirzah's, and Esther's sorrow and shock for the injustice of Jesus' treatment brings about a miracle that can be seen in this clip from the final scene of the movie.
The best version to see Ben Hur in is letter box, so you will not miss anything.
In his death on the Cross, Jesus has the power to change lives. Even though He is not physically with us today, He still has the power to change lives. His life was about loving, giving, and commpassion. His death came about because of jealousy, envy, and the inability of a group of people to face the truth about who He was and what He stood for. But in the end He triumphed because His death was a sacrifice for all humankind to be rescued from the darkness and horror of sin. He is not a prophet as some think, He is the Son of God and He unlike any other prophet still lives.
Jesus IS the reason for the season.
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