Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. --Matthew 10:39My wife and I watched a 2016 Mel Gibson directed war movie this week called Hacksaw Ridge. I liked it so much I watched it twice. I did not see it in theaters when it came out three and a half years ago, because I don't generally watch war movies. When I do see them, it's on cable, which was the case here.
If you've seen the film, you know it's based on the true story of Desmond Doss, the first Conscientious Objector to win the Medal of Honor. Doss, an Army medic, is credited with saving the lives of 75 men after three Allied battalions had been driven back from a horrific battlefield in Okinawa, Japan. It is a story of faith, and of faithfulness to an ideal. It centers on a man's religion, but I could see so much of Christ in the story because of the biblical themes portrayed, whether intentional or not.
The story literally brought tears to our eyes, from beginning to end.
Doss was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Through a series of events, he made a vow to God that he would never again touch a gun. Then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Doss watched as many of his friends and neighbors, even young men from his church, volunteered to serve in the Army. Unlike a typical pacifist, Doss decided to join the Army as well, but he told his recruiter that he would only serve in a non-combat position such as a medic.
Even medics are required to go through Basic Training, and some of the disciplines taught are rifle training and marksmanship. Normally, a recruit is not allowed to pass Basic or given the rank of Private First Class until they have qualified on the rifle range. Conflict arose in the barracks as well as in the chain of command when Doss refused to even touch a rifle.
I've seen a lot of movies where the main character is hazed or beaten for not conforming to the group. However, when I saw the scene where Doss was attacked in the barracks, my mind immediately went to Isaiah 53:7. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." This verse is, of course, prophetic in nature, foreseeing the fact that Jesus would be beaten mercilessly without Him saying a word, even though He had authority to damn them to hell; He could have called a legion of angels to come and rescue Him.
At one point in the story, Doss is arrested and a trial is set for his Court Martial. He is given the choice of pleading guilty of disobeying direct orders from his Commanding Officer, and accepting a Dishonorable Discharge from the Army, or pleading not guilty and then being tried and convicted, then being held in the military prison at Leavenworth, Kansas. Neither outcome is acceptable to him, and no other outcome can be imagined. Yet through the intercession of his father, he is found not guilty and allowed to go to war with his Company.
How many times have I been in a situation where the outcome seems pre-determined, or where there are no good choices in the given circumstances, only to have the situation resolve in such a way that only God Himself could have intervened? Jesus taught us to rely on God as a Father, One who has equipped us for every good work.
Once Doss's Division reaches the target island, they are thrust into a battle they could not have imagined beforehand, even in Boot Camp. Those who have been in combat situations have rightfully said, "War is hell." Director Mel Gibson has been criticized for his portrayal of gratuitous violence; one critic even called the portrayal of violence in his movies "pornographic". Yet we know that combat with the enemy at close range is bloody, and loud, and scary. People are wounded, and some die. This is the nature of war. We who have not served in wartime, or who have lived most of our lives in peace, cannot fathom the physical, emotional, and psychological wounds from a battle situation, or the scars that are carried by the survivors. It makes one wonder why anyone would volunteer for military service.
In a similar way, I think of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, who in Spirit form was present at Creation, volunteering to take on flesh and be human like the rest of us. Like us, but set apart from us, for we are a fallen race, prone to sinfulness while Jesus, as God Himself, cannot sin. Yet here He came, experiencing pain and suffering and discrimination and bullying and persecution and death--all things that are the result of man's Fall, and are not even thought of in Heaven. Into this daily battle with Sin, this human hell, Jesus volunteered to come.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. --Philippians 2:5-8There are other images in the film that remind me of biblical themes, of Jesus Christ Himself. When Doss lowers the wounded down by rope without gloves, the images of his bloody palms is reminiscent of Jesus and the nail-prints in His hands. When Doss is finished rescuing others and is himself rescued and before he is treated for his wounds, there is a short scene of him below a bucket, where the water washes the blood from his head and hands. The coloring of the shot makes it appear that he is literally being washed in blood, reminding me of our being washed in the blood of Jesus.
There were parts of Doss's story that were intentionally left out. Doss had been involved in two major battles prior to Hacksaw Ridge, and was awarded commendations for bravery in both of them. Obviously, the inclusion of all of those battles would have make the film too long, or might have caused the love story to be edited out. In the same way, those people who do not read the Bible for themselves, and only rely on the stories or criticisms of others (who may or may not have read the text themselves) really miss out on the entire story of Jesus. For example, those who believe Jesus only preached love forget that he violently cleared the Temple, using force to overturn the tables of the moneychangers and to drive out the livestock they were selling.
The rescue scene in the movie shows Doss on a stretcher being lowered from the cliff down to the Army hospital. In actuality, Doss gave up his stretcher for another wounded soldier. Then he was shot by a sniper, who shattered his arm. Diving for cover, Doss crawled over 300 yards and hid out for over five hours before his actual rescue. Director Gibson is quoted as saying he intentionally left this part out of the story because he thought nobody would believe it. Truth is stranger than fiction.
If you have been fed a fiction about Jesus, I would encourage you to read the Bible for yourself. The truth will not only blow your mind, it will set you free. The quote in the image at the beginning of this essay is from Doss's captain, who said, "You don't win wars by giving up your life." Jesus proved this wrong, because He gave up His life to win the war over sin.
