Νίκη!

Been paying attention to "March Madness?"  I really haven't.  But there was a pretty big upset last Friday.  I wonder if you caught it?  It wasn't a big game, and it wasn't televised.  Actually, it didn't happen this year.  Or century.  Or even this millennium.  And to be honest, "game" is the wrong word. More like a "one-on-one" match, only the stakes were pretty high.  I doubt there's ever been a basketball game with even a tenth riding on it.

Two opponents in a winner-take-all battle to the death.  Except only one was in danger of death, and they both knew who it would be.  There were two ways it could go: the good guy decides to ignore the set rules and simply defeat the bad guy before starting; or the good guy dies, allowing the bad guy to win.  I was rooting for the good guy.

The good guy died.

WARNING- Incoming Greek Lesson: Νίκη (roughly transliterated: nikae) = victory.  Also name of Greek goddess of victory.  Shoe company "Nike" took this as their name.  "E" at the end much longer in sound, like the "Ei" in Eight.

For those who know, the "good guy" is Christ, and the "bad guy" is Satan.  "But wait," you say, "He won, didn't He?  Isn't that the whole reason for Easter?"  Yeah, it is.  But it wasn't so obvious that first Good Friday.

Everyone was dead sure He had lost.  (Pun intended.)  The Disciples were positive the reason Christ came was to drive out the Romans and restore the Davidic line and kingdom.  The Jewish leaders were positive He was a blasphemer.  The Romans thought He might be part of a new rebellious movement in an already rebellious province.  For the rest of the world, it seemed it was better that Christ had died.

Satan knew the truth.  He would have liked nothing better than to have killed Christ, permanently.  But he knew that wasn't possible.  He knew the very moment Christ stopped breathing that he lost.

Everyone else figured it out Sunday morning.

Χριστός ἀνέστη!  (Christ is Risen!)