Batman Begins and the Savior of Gotham

 

What is the basic plot of Batman Begins?

• The main plot of Batman Begins takes place in Gotham City, a massive city like New York City that has been extremely prosperous but also has quickly become extremely corrupt, dangerous, full of crime, and decadent

• The city’s corruption is rampant throughout the culture and among its leaders and politicians

 

• The main antagonist Ra’s al Ghul, is a mentor to Bruce Wayne in the beginning of the film and trains him in the fighting techniques that become critical to his success as a Superhero

 

• Bruce Wayne, uses Ra’s training and his company’s cutting-edge technology to invent the Batman character to strike fear into and to fight the criminals plaguing Gotham

 

• The level of wickedness and corruption in Gotham becomes so great that Ra’s al Ghul must take action to destroy Gotham. Him and his secret clan vow to execute justice against the evil city as they have done to previous cities and empires like Rome

 

• Batman’s ultimate mission is to intercede on behalf of Gotham to stop Ra’s from destroying the city

 

• Despite the evil and corruption of Gotham, Batman still sees the good in it and vows to fight for the city

How does the plot reveal the nature of God or the reality of life as revealed in Scripture?

• Gotham City is very similar to Sodom and Gomorrah of the Old Testament in the book of Genesis

 

• The evil of Sodom was so great and the Lord being the righteous judge, decided to execute His righteous judgement by turning it to ashes (likely using an asteroid)

 

•  However, Abraham intercedes and pleads with the Lord on behalf of the city that if there is even one righteous person He would spare the city

 

•  Unfortunately, the city is so corrupt that no one person is righteous, and the Lord executed his wrath upon the city

 

•  Gotham City is also very similar to Nineveh in the Book of Jonah

 

•  Nineveh was known for the terror and violence they executed on surrounding nations

 

•  It was a massive city for the time, three days’ journey in breadth, according to the Bible

 

• The evil of Nineveh came up before the Lord, and He planned to execute His righteous justice against the city to destroy it, however, He called on Jonah to go to the city to call out against it and warn the people of the city

 

• Jonah initially refuses and goes in the opposite direction, but the Lord uses a large fish to swallow him and bring him back

 

• He finally goes to Nineveh once the Lord comes to Him a second time

 

•  Jonah delivers the Lord’s message and the King and the city’s people repent from their evil and violent ways

 

• Upon their repentance, the Lord relents from the disaster he was planning to carryout upon the city

 

•  Jonah, however, is angry because he knew that the Lord would relent and show mercy

 

•  In a somewhat comical fashion, the Lord shows Jonah how silly it is that he cares more about a plant that is around for only a day than a city full of people that don’t know their right hand from their left

 

• With Nineveh, we see that the Lord’s desire is not for the destruction of evil cities and peoples, but rather for them to repent of their wicked ways and turn to Him and find true life

 

• We see this most profoundly in Christ coming to be crucified and resurrected to defeat the power of death and righteous punishment on wicked humanity

 

• Jesus is the true “Batman” who interceded on behalf of the wickedness of the decadent world

 

• Today, those who are followers of Christ are called to intercede on behalf of the unbelieving corrupt world, through prayer, through sharing the Gospel in our works and words, and by serving people with love

 

• We are not supposed to be like Ra’s al Ghul and desire that wrath would be carried out on corrupt cities, or like Jonah who has more compassion for a plant than for a people, but rather be like Christ and be like “Batman” and choose to love the world and its “Gotham Cities” and desire that such places would repent of their evil ways to find true life in Christ

 

• The sad reality that Sodom demonstrates is that all are corrupt before the perfect holiness of God, meaning we are all guilty and deserving of death and that it is in Christ alone that we are able to stand clean before God

 

 

Key Scripture:

•  Psalm 14:2-3 ESV “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

 

•  Jonah 1:1-2 ESV “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.’ ”

 

•  Jonah 4:10-15-11 ESV “And the Lord said, ‘You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle.’ ”

 

•  2 Peter 2:6 ESV “if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.”

 

•  2 Peter 3:9 ESV “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

 

• Romans 2:1-2 ESV “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgement of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.”

 

• Romans 3:23-25 ESV “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

 

• Matthew 5:44-45 ESV “ ‘But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.’ ”

 

• 1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  

 

Food for Thought:

•  If you are a Christ follower, do you take seriously the call and opportunity to intercede on behalf of our cities and nations by representing Christ on earth? That our prayers and our obedience to love and good works can make a difference? That we can be the “Batmen” to our “Gothams?” If you’re honest, do you love and desire your city and nation to be saved, even those who hate you and disagree with you, or are you like Jonah and Ra’s Al Goul and would rather see them be destroyed?   

 

• Do you also see the opportunity to be like Bruce Wayne? While most are not billionaire businessmen, we all have the opportunity to be the light in our cities by reflecting the glory of Christ in our various spheres of influence in an increasingly dark and decadent world.

 

•  If you are not a Christ follower, do you see that the Lord’s heart is not to punish, but rather to offer true and abundant life? The consequences of corruption and wickedness are real, for the Lord is a God of justice, but the Lord's heart and desire is for all to turn from wickedness and receive abundant life in Christ.