Volume 30, No. 8                                        
February 20, 2005

The Slave’s Trade

   “I am Spartacus.”
 
  Those words form the climax of the 1960 Kirk Douglas film about a slave who takes on the evil Roman Empire, only to find his ragtag army hopelessly surrounded by General Marcus Crassus.  Before closing in, Crassus promises he won’t crucify the remaining rebels if one of them identifies Spartacus.  The noble leader is about to step forward when a fellow slave stands and shouts, “I am Spartacus”, followed by another who cries, “I am Spartacus!”  Soon, hundreds of slaves raise the chorus into a deafening roar.  At the end of Spartacus, the hero dies on a cross, but not before seeing his newborn son.

   There really was a Spartacus.  A tribal warrior in Thrace, now part of Turkey, he was sold into slavery with his wife when he refused to become a Roman soldier in 73 B.C.  Legend says that, while Spartacus was asleep in the slave market, a snake coiled around his face but did him no harm, leading to predictions of great glory.

   Eventually, the captive was sent to a gladiator school where he fought in the blood-soaked battles that served as entertainment, until he rebelled again.  “If we must fight, we may as well fight for freedom,” he said, inspiring 200 others to join him in a revolt. Spartacus headed south, plundering farms for food and freeing slaves.

   A year later, Spartacus had 70,000 fighters and an arch enemy:  Marcus Crassus.  Rome’s richest man, Crassus established the city’s first fire department then hired arsonists and charged victims outrageous fees before sending help. Bitterly ambitious, he knew Spartacus was having trouble leading his men out of Italy because the rebels got greedy and stayed put, looting and plundering. That made it easy for the General to chase them to the toe of Italy’s boot.

   Caught between the ocean and a sea of enemy soldiers, the slave leader led a fierce charge that broke through the Imperial defence but led him right into Roman reinforcements.  Spartacus was killed in the chaos and his body was never found among the tens of thousands.  After one last battle, Crassus crucified the 6,000 surviving slaves, spacing their crosses evenly along the road to Rome.  Over time, though, the Empire collapsed.

   I am Spartacus.  So are you.  We stand in solidarity with the One who leads our rebellion against the dark empire.  With Paul, we can say, “In my mind, I really want to obey God’s law but, because of my sinful nature, I’m a slave to sin.” (Rom. 8:25).  But we’re slaves in revolt because of Jesus and his sacrifice.  “God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.” (Col. 1:14).

   From the beginning, it was clear the Serpent could not harm him and the prophesy of the Messiah’s victory in Genesis 3:15 is closer than ever.  “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet,” writes Paul (Rom. 16:20)  That doesn’t mean life will be easy but, if we must fight, we may as well fight for the freedom found only in Christ.  Freedom from pride and eternal punishment.

   If we make the slave’s trade — our chains for true choice and our leg-irons for liberty — revolt will be costly. Casualties will be high as we try to free our fellow slaves along the way.  But the key is to keep moving.  When we get greedy for what we see around us, distraction leads to destruction.  “Those in frequent contact with the things of this world should made good use of them without getting attached to them”, warns Paul,”for this world and all it contains will pass away,” “In all you do, be free from the concerns of this life.” (1 Cor. 7:31)

   That freedom involves choice and consequence.  Every day, we find ourselves caught between the enemy and the Answer.  We can compromise and capitulate, or stand courageously with Christ, taking on his identity, character and conduct.  But make no mistake.  The road to heaven, the true Eternal City, is lined with crosses, including yours.  The Good News is, the slaves ultimately win and the evil kingdom collapses.  The Spartacus story has a happy ending after all.    

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca