Robin Hood and Jesus, the True King

 

Disney’s 1973 film Robin Hood is a classic tale of adventure, romance, and dispensation of righteous judgment. The film depicts a state of England where the de facto king at the time (named Prince John) is unfairly taxing the people of Nottingham to such a high degree that their very livelihoods are severely affected. Later in the movie, we see Prince John raise the taxes so high that he imprisons the people of the town who are unable to pay their abhorrently high dues. Everyone understood that Prince John was ruling unfairly, and that it was only a matter of time before his brother, the real king (King Richard), would return and resume his rightful place on the throne. Yet even though the people only needed to wait Prince John out, life under his rule was still exceedingly difficult for the townspeople of Nottingham.

In the midst of this state of affairs, we see the dashing Robin Hood, branded as an enemy of the state because he was robbing from the rich and giving back to the poor. While there is a subplot of Robin Hood pursuing his childhood sweetheart Maid Marian throughout the course of the movie, the greater path of the story follows the unfair imprisonment of the townspeople of Nottingham (due to the high taxes) and Robin Hood’s efforts to free the townspeople from the grasp of Prince John. At the end of the movie, not only does King Richard return and ensure that his people remain free, but we are also informed that Prince John and his minions are placed under arrest and Robin Hood is pardoned.

If viewed through the lens of Christianity, one can’t help but notice some similarities between Prince John and the behavior of Satan. First, we see that Prince John is a temporary king who everyone recognizes to not be the ruler with true power (He may be in power right now, but everyone knows that it won’t be for long, once the real king returns). If we compare this to Satan, we know that the devil may have some power now over this earth, but it won’t be forever and his ability to rule will end the moment that the true king returns (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation chapters 19-20).

Second, Prince John employs his sheriff and snake advisor and other guards to do his bidding, while he runs away when disarmed and, like a big baby, sucks his thumb out of raging jealousy at the mention of the true king’s name. We see this in the spiritual realm too, where the devil has an army of demons and appointed generals to do the evil biddings of the army of darkness, while he too cowers and runs away at the very mention of the name of Jesus Christ (James 4 :7-8).

Third, the taxation policies of Prince John are impacting the townspeople so much that they are unable to live their lives in a way that the true king would want them to be able to live. Once again, this is quite like Satan’s treatment of us on how the shame, the guilt, and the torment that we are now experiencing at the hands of the devil is not God’s desire for how we are to live our lives (James 1:17-18). In other words, this Prince John is a fake, pseudo-king who tries to bring judgment upon the people of Nottingham when in reality he holds no true power and is destined to not only fail but will also be shackled and condemned himself.

What if we looked upon the devil like we view Prince John from the 1973 Disney film Robin Hood, bemused at his raging jealousy while knowing in the back of our minds that his reign will be ending soon? What if we saw today’s spiritual warfare from the lens of eternity, where we know the fake king is imprisoned and the throne of the true king will inevitably be restored? It is here on this concept where we will pause and reflect. Throughout the span of the next few articles, join us as we will meditate upon the perfect judgment of Jesus Christ and how no other person in the earthly or spiritual realm (not even Satan himself) can come close to the power of Jesus Christ.