Jesus the Great Warrior

Who was the greatest warrior known to man? I’m sure people would say ‘Alexander the Great!’, in universal agreement. Many consider Alexander to be one of the greatest conquerors in history, as he conquered kingdom after kingdom all the way from Greece to India, the known world. He was singularly focused on conquest, from a very young age, wanting to etch his mark on history. Alexander conquered the world in just 10 years, etching his mark in history for time immemorial. However, he died very young, at only age 33 - the same age as our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. 

Is this just a mere coincidence, or is there more to this number? There seems more as there are many parallels between the life of Jesus Christ and Alexander the Great. Both believed to be chosen by God, with divine sonship. Both were unafraid, both were courageous, both were ambitious, and both wanted to achieve greatness, as both left a lasting legacy. 

So, Is Jesus a great warrior as Alexander the Great was? We think of him as a peace-loving preacher who died for the sins of the whole world, in the tradition of a monk, and not as a warrior. Let's look at Jesus from a warrior's perspective. Jesus began his preaching at the age of 30, with the words “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near”. His weapon of conquest was not the sword but the word, with healing in His wings. He was conquering the hearts and minds of people. He formed a band of brothers, who were fiercely loyal, and led the charge from place to place. His ultimate destination was a Jerusalem hill, also called Golgotha, the place of the skull - conquering death. 

Alexander did not choose to stop his conquest and reap the benefits of his conquests, or rule as king. Instead, he chose to continue fighting till his death. Similarly, Jesus, also continued his fight against injustice, unto death, even laying His life down for it. 

This brings to mind Achilles leading the Myrmidons in the movie Troy, where he leads the charge in the Trojan war to take the beach and Achilles Hill. However, Achilles dies in battle with an arrow piercing his heel, hence the term Achilles heel that we all know to be associated with him. Nevertheless, he was renowned as the greatest Greek warrior that ever lived. And Alexander drew inspiration from this and Achilles life, wanting to be like him. 

This why when Alexander reaches India, and he wins a tough battle and wants to continue, but he faces opposition from his own soldiers, as they did not want to continue any further. Alexander being who wanted to be, wanted to continue his conquest, into the unknown - but eventually turns back. 

“The greatest glory for a true warrior is to die in battle.” And indeed, Alexander was robbed of this as he died in sickness. His complete destiny would’ve been to die in battle, achieving great glory. However, it didn’t happen, but Jesus did achieve this great glory. Unlike Alexander who turned back, Jesus continued on to his death. We see this in the discourse between Jesus and his disciples in the book of Mathew. 

Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but three days later I will be raised to life.” Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “That must never happen to you!” Jesus turned around and said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don't come from God, but from human nature.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his deeds. I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man come as King.”

This sums up Jesus’ warrior mindset. He was all in, and was choosing to die in great glory. As there is nothing greater for a true warrior than to die fighting. Not long after saying these words, Jesus went into the ultimate den...of robbers. As said again in the book of Mathew “Then Jesus entered the Temple and drove out all those selling and buying in the Temple. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of thieves!”

He overturned the tables of money changers. He made a whip of cords and chased them away. This was a fierce act, an act of war, against the injustices and the unjust systems set up by the rulers of the day. This bold and audacious act hit right at the heart of the pharisaical rule and system, causing them to respond leading up to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. Our Lord did all this knowing this outcome. That makes him a true warrior of the highest degree in the likes of Achilles and more. Just as Achilles died of an arrow piercing his heel while in battle, Jesus died fulfilling an ancient prophecy in the book of Genesis which said;

“I will put animosity

    between you and the woman—

        between your seed and her seed.

    He will crush your head,

        and you will crush his heel.”