We have all seen movies where the underdog sports team is carried to victory by a single star athlete or motivated to winning far beyond their normal capabilities by a coach or other special character. Usually these stories build towards a climax where this key character is removed from the team through some plot twist. The remaining team bravely soldiers on with mixed results, or maybe even gives up and the championship is all but lost. But wait! The hero finally rejoins the team (dare I say is “miraculously resurrected”?) there is an outburst of joy on screen as well as in the theater, the team is once again invincible and the title is theirs. The End.
The part of the story I want to call your attention to is not the winning, the drama or even the big moment with the “outburst of joy”. Instead, focus on the transformation of the rest of the team when their hero returns. Before, they are ordinary people, only capable of common tasks and achievements. Afterwards, they are extraordinary beings, invincible and capable of unimaginable success. What is it that can bring out these abilities with the equivalent of flipping a switch?
Let us switch scenes to a land far, far away and a time long ago. Much like the characters in the movies, the disciples were an underdog team, made up of players with little apparent extraordinary skills or desire to win. They too, found themselves at a critical point in the story with their leader and inspiration gone. We are told that they were afraid of the other team in John 20:19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
In Luke’s version of the story, they were so skittish that they were even afraid of their leader when he returned to the team. Luke 24:36-38
While they were still talking about this [the reports of Jesus’ resurrection], Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
Fortunately the uncertainty did not last long, and we are told in John 20:20
…The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Now that’s more like it! (You may cheer, but please don’t spill the popcorn). In the movies, the hero leads his team to victory in the final game and they are crowned Champions. In the case of the Bible story, buoyed by the resurrection of Christ, the disciples move out into the world and lay the foundation for one of the most successful, long lasting and influential movements of all time. However, that still leaves us with the question of how. In both the Hollywood and Bible story, the cast is a group of ordinary human beings with a less than stellar track record and below average motivation. Yet they achieve extraordinary results.
The difference is confidence and a lack of fear. In both cases the hero delivers results in the early part of the plot, eventually leading the team to believe in their destiny. The Hollywood hero uses true skill or maybe trickery bordering on deception. Jesus uses God’s power in the form of miracles. Once the team starts to believe, it is usually the ordinary people who accomplish the extraordinary, not the hero! Since they believe they cannot fail, they attempt feats previously rejected as ludicrous – and succeed. With their new found confidence, these normal, average people actually perform at a much higher level than ever before.
Now fast forward to right here and right now. We are ordinary people, just like the disciples before Jesus took away their fear. Just imagine what we could achieve without the fear of failure or rejection? I believe Jesus is challenging us to stop thinking about how little we have and how limited we are. Instead, let us plan big, dream even bigger and have faith that the resources and abilities will be there when we need them. After all, we have the winningest coach and the most successful player of all times on our team. With Him, we are invincible! The Beginning.
In Christ,
Martin Frank
Frankly Speaking 