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Celebrating MLK Day: Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus of
Nazareth
By Larry Sykes, Toledo City Councilman
Guest Column
In December the world celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ
and in January the world will celebrate the birth of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. But many don’t know that although the
two men were separated by 2000 years, Jesus of Nazareth and
Martin Luther King Jr. lived similar lives. Both men
represented oppressed peoples.
Both stood up to power. Both preached peace and love. Both
were killed. The careers and ministries of Jesus and Martin
Luther King Jr. both represented a non-violent liberation
movement which led to their violent deaths.
Jesus of Nazareth attacked the Temple and attempted to bring
in outsiders. He reached out to lepers, prostitutes, the
poor and other outsiders.
Religious leaders looked down on the people Jesus appealed
to. Additionally, if Jesus united the outsiders, the
Temple's power might have collapsed. That made him a threat
and subversive.
As Christ tried to mainstream outsiders of his time, Dr.
King represented America's oppressed.
African-Americans became second-class citizens during the
late 17th century and never regained the rights and
privileges enjoyed by some of the first Africans to come to
America.
By the time of the U.S. Brown vs. Board of Education
decision outlawing school segregation, blacks had
experienced nearly two centuries of slavery and an
additional century of Jim Crow.
King's crusade made him dangerous and subversive. Many
whites opposed King's efforts because of racism, fear of job
competition, and other assorted fears.
By the time of his death, King looked to expand the movement
to the poor which brought him into conflict with the middle
class.
To achieve their goal of inclusion, both Christ and King
used non-violence to promote their beliefs.
Christ preached love thy neighbor. He disappointed first
century Jewish revolutionaries. They believed in a fire and
brimstone messiah. They expected someone like Spartacus as
opposed to someone like Gandhi.
As with Christ, King disappointed some black radicals. By
the time of the March on Washington, cracks began appearing
in the Civil
Rights Movement.
Radicals wanted to indict and attack white America. By the
time of King's death, these radicals engaged in violence as
opposed to King's non-violent protest.
To his credit, King refused to abandon his policy of
boycotts, marches and other methods of non-violent protest.
In addition to being peaceful men, both Christ and King
could move people with words.
Both were gifted orators who delivered speeches, or sermons,
which have motivated and inspired and will survive the ages.
Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" is probably a collection of
Jesus' speeches pieced together for dramatic effect.
Although it is unlikely that the address was delivered as
recorded, it does not obscure the message nor the apparent
ability of Christ to inspire.
He had to have great oratorical skills as he spoke of the
oneness of heaven. Unfortunately, recording technology did
not exist in the first century A.D.
Unlike Jesus, recordings of King survive. He was a dynamic
and charismatic speaker. His "I Have a Dream" speech is the
greatest address of the twentieth century.
It presents a uniquely American vision and is quoted to this
day. It speaks of inclusion and the oneness of America as
opposed to separation.
Both men used their oratorical skills on the eve of their
deaths. Jesus held a last supper. There he spoke of his
blood and flesh. Apparently, he also knew of his impending
arrest and its meaning. Arrest meant death.
Two millennia later, King delivered his last speech during a
raging thunderstorm. The "Mountaintop" speech predicted his
early death, but also equality.
In every real sense, he foresaw the election of Barack
Obama.
Like Christ at the Last Supper, King knew he was a dead man.
Unlike King, Jesus was not assassinated. He was executed for
treason. The Romans thought he might have been another
Spartacus.
Christ appealed to society's outcasts, played the role of
messiah, and even disrupted the money changers at the
Temple. As a result, he received a traitor's death on the
cross.
While Christ was executed, King was assassinated. The day
after the "Mountaintop" speech, James Earl Ray shot and
killed King.
Ray attempted to flee to white South Africa. After his
arrest, Ray pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. He died
in prison.
After his death, the Jesus movement turned their rabbi into
a god. Ironically, they copied the Roman model.
After Caesar's death, his heir, Augustus, saw a comet and
claimed it was Caesar's soul.
He declared the former Roman dictator a god. This made
Augustus the son of a god.
The early Christians followed suit. They created a
resurrection story which served as the comet and Jesus
became the son of God.
King did not become a god, but he did enter the American
pantheon. This is as close to deification as an American can
come.
He also became a Christian martyr to a number of churches.
Like Jesus, King even has his own holidays.
While Christ has Christmas, the U.S. made King's birthday a
national holiday. While Christ has Easter, the Episcopal
Church of the United States has a feast day in King's honor.
Although separated by two millennia, Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and Jesus Christ had similar careers and lives.
Both men tried to mainstream the outsider. Both used their
oratorical gifts to push their agendas. Both preached
non-violence and knew they would die young. After their
deaths, both were deified.
A man’s body dies but his spirit lives forever! Case in
point, Jesus and Martin knew their purpose in life and it
was not for their happiness but to be useful and to make a
difference in the world and the lives of other people!
God gives us all a certain talent and how we use that talent
speaks to how we serve God. See God doesn’t pick you unless
he equips you! God has a purpose for your pain, a reason for
your struggle and a reward for your faithfulness so don’t
give up!
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