Cracking the da Vinci Code:
Who Do You Say That I Am?
Matthew 16:13-20
Forty million people. That’s the number of copies of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code that have been sold since its publication in 2003. That’s a lot of books. And now, two Academy Award winning celebrities, Tom Hanks and Ron Howard, have teamed up to bring us the soon-to-be-released movie that everyone is already calling a block-buster. Brown’s book, and now the movie, is dominating pop culture like no other book in recent memory. Web sites, chat rooms, and study groups abound. Cottage industries are popping up all around the world specializing in merchandise from the movie, from Leonardo da Vinci, from opposing groups all aimed at capitalizing on the popularity of the book. So the question begs to be asked: What is the big deal?
There are several things that make it a big deal, big enough certainly that I think it important to address the issue in a sermon series. But first, let me remind you that The Da Vinci Code is a novel. It is a work of fiction. As novels go, it is a page-turner. The novel is fast-paced, action-packed, and intriguing. The characters are interesting and the dialog is always engaging. I found myself hanging on every page and trying to anticipate the plot twists. I was rarely able to guess correctly.
Unfortunately, some people have come to see it not as fiction, but as “fact-ion.” What is fact-ion? It is generally a novel that weaves historical facts within its story line, thus giving the perception that it is true. Brown even states in the novel that “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” He certainly leads the reader to believe that while the characters may be fictitious the underlying historical facts are accurate, and therein lies the problem.
The problem is not that Brown utilizes dubious scholarship, or that he distorts some of the historical facts, or even that on a few occasions he outright lies about some facts. The problem is with the subject matter which the dubious scholar-ship, distortions and lies seek to undermine—the authenticity and reliability of the New Testament, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the role of the church in history. It is an attack on the heart of the Christian faith.
I hear you saying, “Well, I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know why we’re doing this,” or, “I’ve read the book, and I don’t believe what’s in there, so why worry?” Let me briefly say that perhaps if you are strong in your faith, there is nothing to worry about. But for others who are new to the faith, or just beginning to explore the faith, or are not strong in their faith, or have been skeptical of the faith, this novel can have a destructive impact. That’s why it is important, and that is why it’s a big deal.
So what is The Da Vinci Code about? The novel is another in a long line of books whose theme is centered on the search for the holy grail. The Holy grail is, according to legend, the cup that Christ used on the night he was betrayed to institute the new covenant. As legend recounts, this cup came to hold miraculous powers because Joseph of Arimathea, who removed Christ’s body from the cross, had the cup present and Christ’s blood dripped from the cross into the cup. The grail became a lost relic of the church, and the search to locate it has continued for centuries.
The Da Vinci Code is a secret regarding the Holy grail, and this secret is communicated through the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci, who at one time, was the leader of a secret society which knew the secret of the Holy grail. The code reveals that the Holy grail is not a cup or chalice, as legend records, but is rather the womb of Mary Magdalene, for it was her womb that carried, not the blood, but the blood line of Christ. Yes, that is correct. Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had children, and this royal blood-line can be traced through the Merovingian royal family of France. According to the novel, this information has been hidden for centuries by the church in its attempt to retain its power and influence in the world. This secret society has guarded this secret in order to reveal it at the appropriate time, and break the church’s domineering hold on culture. The main characters of the novel race over Europe trying to solve the murder of da Vinci’s contemporary successor and unravel the mystery of the code at the same time. The key is understanding the fresco The Last Supper. Supposedly, the person to the right of Christ, traditionally thought to be the apostle John, is Mary Magdalene.
Brown masterfully weaves the details together into an intriguing story, and along the way, through the dialog of the novel, attacks the three foundations I have already mentioned. I want to deal today with the most outrageous of the lot—the divinity of Jesus Christ.
It really all comes down to the question—Was Jesus really God in human flesh? Brown would have us to believe he was not. According to one of the main characters in the novel, “everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false” (255). He states that until 325 A.D., Jesus followers viewed him “as a mortal prophet…a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal” (253). The claim is that the emperor Constantine, who had recently converted to Christianity, and saw that Christianity was the rising star of his empire, decided to use Christianity to solidify his hold on power. He would control the empire by controlling the church. Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to deal with some of the issues of the empire, and he hijacked Jesus, and by a vote of the bishops present, made him divine. This character in the novel further states that it was “a relatively close vote” (233) by the bishops that decided the issue.
Nothing could be further from the truth. About the only thing Brown gets right is that the Council did meet at a Turkish city called Nicaea in 325 A. D. The Council met primarily because there were some, specifically a guy named Arius, who began teaching that Christ was, in fact, a mere mortal. The Council was called as a means of unifying and clarifying what was already long-established Christian doctrine, namely the divine nature of Jesus Christ. History never records a vote of any type ever being taken at this Council. Most of the time was spent drafting a statement that all the bishops would be asked to sign. Of 318 bishops present, only four disagreed with the statement, and only two refused to sign it. Close vote indeed! This is just one example of how Brown uses bad scholarship and lies to make his point.
From the beginning, that Jesus was fully God, and fully human was never much of a question. The biblical evidence is sure. In our text this morning, we see the apostle Peter proclaiming his belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Even before this event in Jesus’ life, Matthew records the words of the angel announcing the birth of Jesus to Joseph: Matthew 1:23
"Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and he will be called Immanuel
(meaning, God is with us)."
And the apostle John, writing in the opening words of his gospel confirms this belief. Listen to John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and continuing in verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
There is no greater explanation of the understanding of the early church on this issue than what the apostle Paul gave to the Christians at the church in Philippi: Philip. 2:6-11
Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. [7] He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. [8] And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. [9] Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Bible also records the words of Jesus Christ himself: John 10:30
The Father and I are one."
The Biblical record is clear, but we also must look at the historical record of the early church.
• Ignatius- “God himself was manifested in human form…” (A. D. 105)
• Irenaeus- “He is God, for the name Emmanuel indicates this.” (AD 180)
• Tertullian- “…Christ our God.” (AD 200)
• Origen- “No one should be offended that the Savior is also God…” (AD 225)
• Novatian- “He is not only man, but God also…” (AD 235)
• Lactantius- “We believe Him to be God.” (AD 304)
Those bishops who gathered in Nicaea affirmed what had been the long held belief of the early church, and it came to us in what we call The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,…
God from God, Light from Light,
True God from true God…
Of one Being with the Father;
But why does it matter if Christ is divine or not? Aren’t his teachings still valid? No, they are not. They may be nice teachings. They may be good teachings that will help us live a good life, but they will not save us, and salvation is what we need. Only God giving himself to us can redeem creation. Anything short, fails. Listen again to the apostle Paul: Col. 1:19-23
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, [22] yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. [23] But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Jesus is either Lord of all, or he is a liar and a lunatic. He can’t be just a mere mortal. As C. S. Lewis said, “He did not leave that option open to us.”
Who do you say Jesus is?
