Do you know any good romance novels involving crucifixion?
According to Martin Hengel, there used to be.
In his book, Crucifixion, the New Testament expert surveyed the use of the cross as a penalty in the Graeco-Roman world. Part of the overview included reviewing the popular Roman literature in the time Christianity began. Reading these novels evokes the horror that most people felt about the threat of crucifixion.
“Crucifixion of the hero or heroine is part of their stock in trade,” Hengel says of the romances. He gives some examples:
In the Babyloniaca written by the Syrian Iamblichus, the hero is twice overtaken by this fearful punishment, but on both occasions he is taken down from the cross and freed.
Again:
Habrocomes, the chief figure in the romance by Xenophon of Ephesus... is first tortured almost to death and later threatened with crucifixion. Even his beloved, Anthea, is in danger of being crucified after she has killed a robber in self-defense.
However, he says, readers would have never accepted a plot where the hero actually endured crucifixion:
Heroes cannot on any account be allowed to suffer such a painful and shameful death -- this can only befall evil-doers.... The hero of the romance is saved at the last moment, just before he is to be nailed to the cross.
Of course, in the Bible’s love story, the hero is not saved from the cross. Instead, he suffers and dies.
You do know that the crucifixion of Jesus is a love story, right? The Bible says Jesus died out of his love for us, which provokes a response of love for him. Immediately after Jesus died, the Apostle John tells us that two men buried him as if he were a noble member of their own family. They risked everything to do so, because they were prominent men in the Jewish community,. But they did it out of love for Jesus.
Yes, the story of the cross is a love story. Let’s look at that love story this Sunday. See you at 10am!
--Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.