Over the Easter weekend, I sat down to watch Ben Hur (1959 version) for the first time in probably 20-30 years. I remember vaguely watching it when I was really young back at the Morgan ranch, but it seems I had little memory of the movie except — yep, you guessed it — the chariot race.

And what a chariot race! Whew — there was so much excitement, dread, terror, horror and anticipation all rolled up into one, 10-minute visually spectacular vista!

I tell you, even with the razor blade hubs of Messala’s chariot, the four horse teams running at full speed, the jockeying for first place — some of the most anxious moments for me was when the little “ambulance” guys trekked onto the track to pick up a trampled charioteer, then scrambled to make it back to safety before the horde of chariots and horses rounded the corner. Even the crowd at the arena enjoyed that part of the race as they oohed and ahhed each time the medical team barely escaped death themselves.

There are a lot of parallels in this movie to modern times as world domination is being sought by the mighty Romans and no one is to stand in their way. They use force, threats and physical torture to get all they want and when those tactics don’t work, they try and silence them by imprisonment or banishment. 

Charlton Heston, as Judah Ben-Hur, represents the people, a peaceful citizenry in ancient Israel. After choosing patriotism for his people and his country over his feigned friendship with Messala, Ben-Hur is sent packing his homeland to get him as far away from his childhood friend and removed as an obstacle to Rome.

When Messala arrives, the two men are happy to see each other again but soon their political differences put them in different sides of the ongoing war between their people. Hmmmm, interesting.

Why was Judah exiled? He was accused of trying to kill the Roman governor when roof tiles from his home accidentally fell near the Roman leader. Accused and sentenced for something he didn’t do...interesting.

That is when Judah has his first encounter with God. On his treacherous and lonely walk (despite being bound to other “slaves”) through the lands he grew up in, Judah meets Jesus at the very start of Christ’s ministry. It’s incredible how Judah is also there at the very end of Christ’s life on His walk to the cross. At this first encounter with Jesus, Judah is denied even the smallest drops of cool, refreshing water from the wells by the Roman guards. As the others quench their throats, Judah is left standing in the dry sand.

The next thing he knows, a man of quiet dignity approaches and offers him a cup-ful of water — and the Romans yield to Jesus as Judah savors the heavenly gift. Little did he know, but Jesus was offering him living water that would make him thirst no more.

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’  — Jn. 7:37-38.

For three years, Judah serves as a slave in the belly of a ship as he nurses his grudge against Rome. That is, until fate provides him with an opportunity to return to his homeland (note the “three years” and how that runs parallel with Jesus’ ministry).

Later in the movie when Judah returns to Israel, Ben-Hur and Esther are walking through northern Israel when they come upon a man gathering people to  Him on a hillside near a lake. Judah shrugs it off and continues his walk, missing out on a grand opportunity to hear some of Jesus’ most profound sermon. Esther joins the mob on the hill and through this experience, her life is changed, going from a timid, obedient woman-slave to a bold, courageous crusader.

Judah’s quest on his return to Israel is to find out what had happened to his mother and sister who also had been targeted for silence by the Romans — so much so that the guards at the prison didn’t even know for sure if Ben-Hur’s family was dead or alive in the deep recesses of the jail.

When Judah finally discovers his family has been expelled from society to a leper camp, he follows Esther to catch a glimpse of them as his heart yearns to see them, to hold them.

Sorta like the coronavirus, huh? Leprosy in those days caused families and loved ones to be separated for fear of infecting others. It was only later on did Judah and Esther summon the courage to overcome their fears and approach their loved ones and embrace them. Fear can do a lot of damage to families and friends.

Judah’s emotional and spiritual conversion under the heavy shadows of tyranny, injustice and hate demonstrates the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Judah witnesses compassion and forgiveness as Christ calls out from the cross in a dying declaration.

Ben-Hur is a film that well over 50 years later still packs a punch!