Humility and Exaltation

‘if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith’

1 Corinthians 15:13

Dear Students, Parents and Carers

One of the greatest fears of all of us is that we will be humiliated; the fear of being ridiculed, disparaged and laughed at is a concern of loss of dignity, self-esteem and even hope. This fear amongst young people across the Western World is exacerbated by the worst of social media.

The dread of humiliation was even greater in the ancient world. The preservation of honour was of paramount importance, even to the point of death. The worst fate, certainly of people of significance, was to lose their good name, to be shamed.

Within this context, the notion that God could come to Earth, being born not in a palace but in abject poverty as an ‘outsider’, was so counter-cultural it was difficult for the ancients to grasp. It was, as the Apostle Paul wrote ‘a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles’ (1 Corinthinians 1:23). The Gods of the Greek Pantheon were self-focused, arrogant and dangerous. The idea that a God could be crucified simply did not fit into their world view; it was ‘foolish’. Ironically, from a modern standpoint, the Gentile world (functionally, Greeks and Romans) mocked early Christians as atheists because they only had this one, as they saw it, despicable God, rather than the whole pantheon of majestic Gods of the Greco-Roman world. To the Jews, anyone crucified was, by definition, under the condemnation of God and therefore logically could not be God.

Crucifixion was the most humiliating death the Romans could devise. Its very point was humiliation; hence a Roman citizen could not be crucified. This punishment was reserved for the derided: slaves, insurrectionists and the worst of hardened criminals. Crucifixion began with the victim being stripped naked for public display to the world, humiliation; distilled to its essence. It continued in agony, with nails being driven through the wrists and sometimes feet of the condemned man, who would then writhe in public agony amidst the jeers of the audience. Unable to resist birds pecking at him, his weight hanging on the cross would force the nails to press through his flesh until blocked by bones where the wrist connects to the hand. Part of the ordeal was the gore and loss of blood. Survival for up to three days of public humiliation comprised an agonising, tortuous death. Most of the ancient world could not conceive of God willingly undergoing such a fate for the sake of humanity.

The mode of Jesus’ birth and death was part of the point. So too was his social position in the bottom caste of society (carpenter in the ancient world was very likely those at the bottom of the rung, who chiselled stone from quarries). The point is beautifully captured in Paul’s letter to the Philippians “Jesus… made himself nothing… by taking the very nature of a servant (slave)… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:5-9). This exaltation is contingent upon Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, an extraordinary claim in both the ancient world and our contemporary society. Paul was clear on this; “if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ has been raised and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is our faith” (1 Corinthians 15:13).

The notion of resurrection has been caught up in the giving of Easter eggs as a symbol of new birth in an age of unbelief (scepticism), as our present cultural moment has been described. The symbol – the egg – has come to be the actual point. Similarly, the notion of crucifixion as captured by the cross on hot cross buns has largely been stripped of spiritual significance.

At Shore we preach the biblical orthodoxy of Christ crucified and raised from the dead. Christians claim there is plausible evidence for the resurrection miracle as the central event in human history. From Jesus’ example we derive our modern celebration of humility, love and concern for others. The events of the Easter week underpin much of our culture, where Christian values remain prized, just as in the ancient world they were despised as contemptuous, fit for a slave. Amidst our feast of hot cross buns and Easter eggs, it is worth contemplating these matters.

Head of the River

The 2024 major regatta was a very good day indeed for Shore on the water. The crews of all of the boats excelled themselves to the extent that Shore achieved second place in most events and first in two: the Year 10 Second VIII and the Fourth IV. The greatest cheer came for the First VIII who, in the last approximately 50 metres, moved from fourth to second place through a mighty effort from our boys, pipping King’s and Riverview at the post. It was heartening to see our rowers so delighted with their efforts. Congratulations to our Master in Charge of Rowing, Mr Glenn Bates, our two Senior Coaches, Mr Jason Baker and Mr Oliver Smith, and all of our coaching staff. Congratulations also to our crews and thank you to all the students, parents and Old Boys for being part of the Shore support contingent at the Olympic Rowing Centre.      

Dr John Collier
Headmaster