My wife and I just finished all the seasons of “Bosch” and “Bosch Legacy” on Amazon Prime television.
Harry Bosch is a Los Angeles detective in “Bosch” and a private investigator in “Bosch Legacy.” He is relentless in solving difficult murder cases in both series. His good quality is that he has an undying devotion to justice for the sake of the victims, but he also has a side to him that is more questionable.
In the final episode, Rene Ballard, a Los Angeles detective, is introduced and works a case with Bosch. At the end of the episode, Ballard tells Bosch that a mentor of hers had told her that detectives must enter a world of darkness to do his or her work, but that she fears that some of the darkness has entered Bosch.
That was the author’s (Michael Connelly) summation of his chief character, Bosch — he was always working for justice but always dealing with his darkness within. Most of the heroes of novels and movies these days are antiheroes, broken characters riddled with self-doubt, but they work to overcome their darkness and inner chaos to accomplish something.
In real life as well, we are accustomed to our heroes and leaders being riddled with degrees of corruption, immorality, instability of character, and even addiction. As a society, we have become jaundiced and skeptical of even the great ones.
That jaded view of life has quietly shaped a popular version of Jesus as a man who was not so much heroic as a person who was just a humanitarian, not a warrior operating behind enemy lines but just a humble man trying to do good in a hurting world. He is seen by some as a man stuck in his personal Gethsemane, dealing with the darkness of his soul as the cross looms in front of him.
We have occasional glimpses of Jesus dealing with his humanness, such as when he wept in front of Lazarus’ tomb, when he prayed at Gethsemane, and when on the cross he cried out “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Yet, these are the dark times that Jesus was able to pass through because of the light that was within him.
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is given a new name not mentioned in the four Gospels. Revelation 19:11 says, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True” (NIV).
We live in a world of people masquerading as the ones having the answer to life, but in Jesus we find the One who is the answer. He is faithful and true. He is faithful in that his love for us is without question. He suffered for us. He gave his life for us. He seeks us as a father seeks a lost son or a shepherd seeks a lost sheep. He is true in that there is no falseness in him.
If you went into a home where the hosts greeted you with warm handshakes, filled your glass with wine, and gave you a place of honor at their table, you might describe them as gracious and hospitable. However, if these super-friendly folks never asked you a question about you or your family and showed no interest in getting to know you, you might describe their hospitality as false intimacy. They would have presented the image of warmth without truly trying to get to know you.
Jesus was betrayed by a kiss, a false sign of intimacy and respect. He said, “Those who speak on their own seek glory for themselves. Those who seek the glory of him who sent me are people of truth; there’s no falsehood in them” (John 7:18, CEB). There are many who seek to glorify themselves, but Jesus came to glorify the Father. He is the One who is Faithful and True.
Peer pressure, the fear of other people, is the motivation of many. It led Herod to behead John the Baptist. He did not want to do it, but “because of his oaths and his dinner guests,” he ordered that it be done (Matthew 14:10). Herod had an innocent man guillotined because of his fear of his dinner guests. It sounds crazy. It is fear of rejection or embarrassment that drives what people wear, what they say, and how they act. Peer pressure drives us to a certain falseness in life.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he was tried and found to be true. The truth in his soul led him to stand against the false pretenses of his society and the false pride that is in every human soul. Even when his dedication to truth led him to execution, he remained faithful to truth. When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked him, “‘So, you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.’ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked” (John 18:37-38, CEB). What is truth? The Truth was standing right before him, but there was so much falseness in Pilate’s soul that he did not recognize it.
The One who is called “Faithful and True” stands before us. We can accept him or reject him, receive him or ignore him. If we want to deal with the corruption and darkness of our own souls, we must follow the One who is Faithful and True.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
