Underdog stories are superior

Mission workers Randy and Dani reflect on the Bible’s grand narrative through the lens of the stories we love most; the underdog tales where everything seems stacked against the hero. As they sit with Scripture as a whole, they trace the familiar beats of conflict, weakness, sacrifice and unexpected victory, recognising in Jesus the ultimate “underdog” whose story overturns every expectation and reshapes every life it touches.

Nowhere else to go but up

Imagine a movie about an undefeated team with countless great players which flawlessly dominates the playoffs and obliterates its opponent in the finals to raise the championship trophy. That kind of story wouldn’t sell tickets.

A sure-fire recipe for box office sales is the tale of the down-and-out team miraculously overcoming all odds to win the gold: Hoosiers. Rudy. Apollo 13. Rocky. The Karate Kid. Remember the Titans. The Shawshank Redemption.

“Jesus is the underdog whose story doesn’t end like it’s supposed to when He dies.”

What appeals to us about the victim becoming the victor? These stories reflect the longings of our hearts and resound with our souls’ deepest desires. They give us hope. They restore trust. There is something about such plots that rings true at the deepest levels of reality.

“These stories reflect the longings of our hearts and resound with our souls’ deepest desires.”

No one cheers for bullies who mercilessly crush their opponents. We loathe such tyrants. They remind us of those who have steamrolled over us on their way to victory. But a good underdog story must certainly have a bully. In fact, the worse the bully, the better the story.

And when these stories are based on real life events, we love them even more. We relate to the struggles, injustices, overwhelming odds and uphill battles. We see our own stories in the underdog’s, and we long for the triumphal resolutions that these stories provide.

So here is the recipe: an evil tyrant, an insurmountable obstacle, an unforeseen hero, an amazing way and an absolute reality. And this is why the gospel is the best story ever told. It has all the elements of the epic underdog tale, and each one is extreme in every sense:

• An evil tyrant – it doesn’t get more evil than Satan.
• An insurmountable obstacle – All have sinned. The death rate is still 100%.
• An amazing way – through surrender, sacrifice and a supernatural resurrection our hero tallies a victory that isn’t only spectacular and unanticipated, but also everlasting.
• An absolute reality – this story is historically placed in space and time, and it is the deepest truth ever known. And not only that, but as it is retold, its power transforms even the hardest of hearts.

An unforeseen hero – a Jewish carpenter, born into poverty, raised in the “backwoods”, an unarmed pacifist, abandoned at His point of greatest need, patiently yielding His divine powers. He was captured without a fight, judged without integrity, condemned without proof and executed without compassion. Jesus is the underdog whose story doesn’t end like its supposed to when He dies.

Never in the history of the universe has there been a person with such influence. Maybe it is because this man was fully man, but also fully God.

He did not hold a significant position according to the world.

He was born, lived and died poor.

He left his legacy in the hands of ordinary, afraid and uneducated men and women.

He died at the hands of those He came to serve and save.

We have none of His writings, but instead He let eye witnesses write His biography.

He made humility a virtue.

He did not exercise His rights nor His powers as the King of everything.

He demonstrated what this life is supposed to be lived like.

He gave away everything He had.

He let His reputation be smeared by corrupt people without speaking out in His own defense.

He was wrongfully executed and died despite living an innocent life.

He overcame death, rising from the grave on the third day.

Even then, He did not boast nor draw attention to Himself, leaving the news of His victory to be spread by the least of all.

And He did not return to the grave, but ascended to His Father and has been alive ever since, interceding on behalf of His adopted siblings, demanding justice for them because of His works to pay the ransom each of us owes.

There is no one like Him. He stands alone in greatness, generously giving grace to all those who will humbly accept it.

“This is why the gospel is the best story ever told.”