Weakness trumps power?

Loki is a being from Asgard, a distant planet, and he craves power – power to rule the world!  Power he never had being the second (adopted) son of Odin, the king of Asgard.  So he comes to Earth to seize this power.  He quickly intimidates the everyday people into submission but what he doesn’t count on are a rag tag team of super heroes there to stop him; The Avengers.  Eventually he comes face to face with the Hulk in the office of Tony Stark aka Iron Man.  At the cusp of seizing power Loki makes the classic villains gaff of gloating that the Hulk can’t touch him, after all, he’s a god!  To which the Hulk replies by grabbing him and over arming him into the floor a few dozen times leaving him embedded in the concrete before striding out quipping “puny god”… the audience erupts into laughter.

I realized at that moment in the theatre that we humans hold in our minds a strange contradiction; we resent anyone who would dare be more powerful than us but that as soon as a weakness is revealed in them we despise them.  This seemed to me to explain the audience’s reaction to Loki; we loved to hate him because he thought he was all that and set about ruling over the world as a god but when he was so easily defeated by a mere mortal albeit a superhuman green one, we mocked him.  In your face Loki!  

It reminded me of another God who visited our planet about 2000 years ago.  The people at the time were confused by him because he appeared to have all the power in the universe; he could heal with a word, command evil spirits, raise people from the dead and yet he would not use this power to rule over them but instead was easily defeated and killed on a cross like a common criminal.  At the cross the people laughed and mocked at his weakness saying “You saved other people, if you really are a god, get down off the cross and save yourself too!” You and I may think that we would treat him differently, but our reaction to Loki tells a different story.  What kind of god gives up ultimate power for suffering?  On the cross Jesus appears to be exactly like Loki (post hulk) - a puny god, easily defeated, worthy of ridicule.

 

And so the people laughed at him that day, thinking they had defeated God, not realizing that it was their (and our) hulk sized wickedness that battered and bruised him and put him on that cross.  Little did they know that this was the only way our sin could be paid for; for the one perfect man to take the place of the many sinners and through his weakness defeat the strong grip that sin has on our souls.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was his love that held him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom