Jesus: The Enduring

Happy New Year’s Eve! Tomorrow, we welcome in a new calendar, a new day, and a new season. 2018 is ending and 2019 is about to begin.

At the start of every year, many people draft up their New Year’s Resolutions. Some will keep them; others will not. Start-of-the-new-year resolutions are great in theory, but can be very difficult in practice. Still, there are those who keep their resolutions, and the reason they do is that they are resolved.

Resolve can be defined as, “to settle or determine.” It means making a decision and not turning back from it. Resolve is undying, defiant, and diligent. It refuses to give up or back down, no matter the cost.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2-3, NIV)

Our greatest example of a life resolved is Jesus. Jesus experienced the worst pain and heartache this world has ever known, all for our sake. But He didn’t simply get through the beatings, the lashes, the nails, and the cross; He endured.

Dictionary.com defines ‘endure’ as “to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo” (emphasis mine).

In the movie Black Panther, T’Challa (the Black Panther) takes on the throne of his country, Wakanda, after his father’s tragic death. But soon thereafter, T’Challa is challenged by a secret his father kept from him and all Wakanda: an unknown cousin, hidden, neglected, and cast out by the scandal and death of his traitorous father (T’Challa’s uncle).

Killmonger, as the cousin calls himself, comes boldly to Wakanda to usurp the kingdom. He has trained his entire life for the sole purpose of killing T’Challa and becoming king of Wakanda. Because of Killmonger’s royal blood, he has the right to challenge the throne, and he does.

T’Challa accepts the challenge, and he and Killmonger meet on top of a waterfall to fight. Before the challenge begins, T’Challa is stripped of the power he has as Black Panther. Priest Zuri (T’Challa’s close friend) performs the ceremony and commences the fight.

Surrounded by spearholders, who continually push the contesters toward the waterfall’s drop, T’Challa must defeat Killmonger quickly; but Killmonger is a formidable foe. Fueled by rage and hatred, Killmonger attacks viciously at T’Challa, and the battle goes from bad to worse. Taking hit after hit, T’Challa has three options: win, yield, or die.

As T’Challa slips more and more into defeat, he falls back and lies defenseless. Killmonger raises his weapon for the kill – but Zuri steps in to stop Killmonger. Killmonger kills Zuri, and swiftly returns to the now grieving, beat up, and broken king. T’Challa lashes at Killmonger in fury, but he is now weak, whereas Killmonger is victorious. Raising the Black Panther up, Killmonger plunges him over the waterfall’s edge.

But T’Challa doesn’t die.

His unconscious body washes up on the shore by the mountains, and an isolated Wakandan tribe rescues him, preserving his body with snow. His family comes to the same tribe for refuge, and there they find their king, breathing faintly. Using the last flower with the powers of the Black Panther, they revive T’Challa. They then return to reclaim the throne.

Back at Wakandan headquarters, Killmonger assembles all of the kingdom’s weaponry and soldiers to war against the world. As he sends aircrafts into the sky, one is unexpectedly shot down. Killmonger and those with him run towards the crash in shock and confusion, until their eyes fixate on the Black Panther.

Crying out Killmonger’s name, T’Challa shouts, “I never yielded. And as you can see, I am not dead!”

Thus begins a final fight between two kings and two armies, and this time, T’Challa has the upper hand. He pummels Killmonger down into Wakanda’s lab, and they have combat on the stage of a high-speed vibranium train track. Evenly matched, T’Challa and Killmonger attack each other fiercely.

As the train shoots past them, pushing them toward the edge of the track, Killmonger holds his knife against T’Challa, telling him it’s the end for him. But in a final act of victory, T’Challa whips the knife from Killmonger and tosses it over the leaving train. He rolls Killmonger across the now empty track, catches the knife, and plunges it deep into Killmonger’s back. In that moment, the rebellion against the throne and the war against the world are finished.

The pain and suffering Jesus bore did not change Him. He was not impaired by it, and he did not yield to it.

He refused to let opposition, lies, and accusations deter Him from the mission His Father had given him. Not even the cross and the tomb could dampen the fire in His heart! Jesus’ love for us held out against death and rose from the grave. His love won the victory!

Jesus endured our sin, shame, and all the pain of this world that we might be set free. When He fought against the enemy, He was fighting for you. You were and are His prize. You were and are His focus. In great resolve, Jesus refused to give up or back down until He had won your heart.

Now you, too, can live a life of enduring resolve. You can stand strong against whatever life throws at you, knowing who you are and Whom you belong to. Not only can you ‘get through’ the rougher times, but you can endure. Let the process unfold. Let Jesus be glorified in your response to your situation.

In the depth of darkness, light shines the brightest; under the greatest pressure, the truest beauty comes forth. Rise up and let your heart present itself. Be a beacon of hope and truth as you endure for Christ’s sake.

This is resolve: not simply to remain, but to rise up and let all that’s within you present itself to the world.