"Behold, a God Who Bleeds..."

The Jig is up, Danny

 

 

One of my favorite movies of all times is The Man Who Would Be King staring Sean Connery and Michael Caine (and the ever-lovely Shakira Caine), written and directed by John Houston.  It was based on Rudyard Kipling's short story, which in turn was loosely based on the actual stories of  James Brooke and Josiah Harlan.  The movie is a perfect picture of arrogance and hubris, with the inevitable downfall of a man who started believing his own myth.

 

I would hate to spoil the movie for you, if you haven't seen it yet--read no further, rent it immediately, then come back here.  I'll wait.

 

Done?

 

Ok, through a freak arrowshot in battle that produced no blood, Danny Dravot (played by Sean Connery) is proclaimed a god, the son of Iskander (Alexander the Great), and made king of Kafiristan (not fully explained in the movie, but eastern Afghanistan.)  Everything goes swimmingly, until Danny decides to marry a mortal woman.  This is quite unseemly, because mortals and gods are not supposed to marry.  Roxanne (played by Shakira Caine) bites Danny, and low and behold, he bleeds!

 

With this revelation, Danny's erstwhile subjects are more outraged, and kill Danny and almost kill Peachy (Michael Caine), but he survives to tell brother Kipling (they are all Masons) the tale.

 

All good fun action, with some memorable lines such as:

 

Billy Fish: He wants to know if you are gods.

Peachy Carnehan: Not gods - Englishmen. The next best thing.

Or this:

Daniel Dravot: You are going to become soldiers. A soldier does not think. He only obeys. Do you really think that if a soldier thought twice he'd give his life for queen and country? Not bloody likely.

Masterful movie, among the best.  When your Dear Heart is watching the latest Romantic Comedy, endure it--and then have her watch this with you.  (Followed by other manly movies, like Zulu, Glory, or Master and Commander.)

But let's look at the key plot turning: Danny doesn't bleed, and proclaimed a god.  He bleeds, and then dismissed as not a god.  Among the inhabitants of Kafiristan, gods do not bleed.  And, at least in fiction, many cultures believe this.  (Even extraterrestrial ones, according to Star Trek).

 

The Jig is up for you, too, "Kyrock."  Also about a woman.

 

In the realm of Greek myths, gods indeed did "bleed" but it was a golden substance known as ichor.  And if a mortal made contact with ichor, that moral would instantly die.  (For a visual treatment of this, though mixed-up with Egyptian mythos, see the 2016 movie The Gods of Egypt.)

In the Abrahamic religions, Christianity is unique in having at its very core the belief that yes, God does bleed--but only in the incarnation of the Son, because He was both fully God and fully man--His human nature bled.  And that bleeding is one of the essential hallmarks of the Christian faith.

In Hebrews we read:

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise hpartook of the same things, that ithrough death he might jdestroy kthe one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who lthrough fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he mhelps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had nto be made like his brothers in every respect, oso that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered qwhen tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. --Heb 2:14-18

But not only that He partook of this nature, but also that the shedding of His blood was key to our redemption:

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest gof the good things that have come,5 then through hthe greater and more perfect tent (inot made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he jentered konce for all into the holy places, not by means of lthe blood of goats and calves but mby means of his own blood, nthus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if othe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with pthe ashes of a heifer, sanctify6 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will qthe blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit roffered himself without blemish to God, spurify our7 conscience tfrom dead works uto serve the living God. --Heb 9:11-14

 For the writer of Hebrews, the blood of Christ was absolutely essential to seal the New Covenant.  Indeed, in the words of Christ Himself:

22 dAnd as they were eating, he took bread, and after eblessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; fthis is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had ggiven thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, f“This is my hblood of the3 covenant, which is poured out for imany. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” --Mark 14:22-25

 In some ways, this is the exact opposite of The Man Who Would Be King:  Danny was proven to be a mortal by bleeding, then killed...Jesus' death was the way by which He demonstrated His power, even over death:

15 iHe is the image of jthe invisible God, kthe firstborn of all creation. 16 For by6 him all things were created, lin heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether mthrones or ndominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created othrough him and for him. 17 And phe is before all things, and in him all things qhold together. 18 And rhe is the head of the body, the church. He is sthe beginning, tthe firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For uin him all the vfullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and wthrough him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, xmaking peace yby the blood of his cross. --Col 1:15-20

In Greek mythology, ichor brought instant death.  In Christ, the blood of the Son of God would bring everlasting life.

The defeat of death was the path of preeminence.  The shedding of blood, the seal of reconciliation.

And when we see that the Inescapable God Who could stop all evil with a word chose to destroy evil--He chose to do it not with a spoken word but the Word that spoke all into existence--being silent before the slaughter, to shed blood and bear evil itself.  The Word, in His silence, spoke death to evil as He Himself died...and in that death, bringing life anew.

So the solution to evil was not destruction of all evil--for that would destroy all.  Rather, it was the bringing of life anew through death.  And we shall speak of this more, God willing...