On October 30th, 1974 one billion people tuned in to watch the greatest sporting event of the 20th century. Billed as the Rumble in the Jungle, the event was a boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Foreman was the undefeated world heavyweight champion. 37 of Foreman’s 40 wins were by knockout. Foreman was a beast of a man; he was bigger, stronger, and younger than Ali. As a result, Ali was a 4-1 underdog in the fight.
Leading up to the match Ali announced that he had a secret strategy to beat Foreman. It was a technique he developed while sparing in the gym. Ali would allow his sparring partner to land punch after punch without hitting back. The idea was that this repeated punishment would teach Ali how to take a hit. It was suggested to Ali that is how he should fight against Foreman. Ali was told, "Do what you do in a training session: Act like a dope on the ropes." It was an unusual suggestion for the guy who like to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. It seemed like suicide. It was one thing to let a sparring partner land punch after punch, but George Forman was a powerhouse, his punches were punishing. A skeptical Ali replied, “so you want me to be a rope-a-dope?”[1]
In our gospel lesson for today we find Jesus preparing His disciples for a fight. The Pharisees and teachers of the law had begun to grumble against Jesus. They didn’t like that He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. They were irritated that He allowed his disciples to pick heads of grain on the Sabbath. They were furious that He healed a man whose hand was shriveled. A fight was coming, and Jesus knew it. Jesus wasn’t afraid to step into the ring, indeed it was what He was born to do. But, Jesus also knew His followers would not be able to stand in His corner without being drawn into the fight. Later He would tell them, “All men will hate you because of me”[2]
Jesus knew He needed to get His disciples ready to fight. So, one morning, after He had spent the night on a mountainside in prayer, Jesus invited his disciples to join Him for some training. Jesus told His disciples this is what I want you to do when you find yourself in the ring. I want you to “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” I want you to act like a dope on the ropes.
We aren’t told how the disciples reacted to this unusual suggestion, but it isn’t very difficult to imagine what might have been going through their minds. ‘So Jesus you are saying that when a person says mean, nasty ugly things to us or about us, when they talk behind our backs and gossip about us, tell lies about us, and go out of their way to make us look bad; when people are being downright hateful to us, you want us to just… take it???’ ‘Yup. Be dopes on the ropes.’
‘O.K. I suppose we can do that, after all sticks and stone may break our bones but names can never hurt us. We can be rope-a-dopes as long as they don’t physically hurt us. Jesus you are not honestly suggesting that we turn the other cheek, are you? I mean, if someone does something to cause me harm, say someone pushes me down on the playground or pushes me around in the boardroom, let’s say they tear my sweater or total my cart, let’s say they break a toy or breach a contract, we don’t have to take that do we Jesus?’ ‘Yes, even if they cause you harm, I want you to be dopes on the ropes.’
‘Jesus, if we don’t fight back, people are going to take advantage of us. They are going to see us as weak and spineless. If we give them an inch, they are going to take a mile. We can’t just let people take from us. We do that and we are going to be treated like doormats. People are going to walk all over us. Jesus you don’t want people to walk all over us, do you?’ ‘I don’t want people to take advantage of you, but if they do, I want you to be dopes on the ropes.’
Being a rope-a-dope sounds like a good way to get your butt kicked. That’s what it looked like to the billion people who tuned in to watch the Rumble in the Jungle. Ali took an unbelievable beating from Foreman. Big George had Ali pinned against the ropes. Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, Jab, cross, hook, uppercut, Jab, cross, hook, uppercut. Foreman rained down on Ali punishing blow after punishing blow. It was all Ali could do to keep his hands up to defend himself. It seemed as if a Foreman victory was inevitable.
Round after round after round they fought. Foreman thought the match would be over in two, by the eight round the big man was exhausted. His punches had lost their power and he could barely stay on his feet. That is when Ali made his move. In the eighth round Muhammad Ali did what no one else had ever done, he sent George Foreman to the mat, knocking the now former champion out. Afterwards everyone wanted to know how he did it. Ali explained he was a rope-a-dope. He knew he was no match for Foreman’s power, so he let the big man wear himself out till there was no fight left in him.
If Ali would have fought Foreman blow for blow, he would have likely lost the match. That’s what happened to every other boxer that stepped into the ring with big George. But Ali was different than every other fighter, Ali was a dope on the ropes.
Jesus wants His followers to be different than every other fighter. He says, “32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full.” Eye for eye. Tooth for tooth. Insult for insult. Mean and nasty for mean and nasty. You swing at me and I am going to put you down. That’s how the world works. That’s how people treat each other. That’s what everyone else does. Jesus says, that may be how the world works, that may be how people treat each other, that may be what everyone else does, but that’s not how you work, that’s not how you treat people, that’s not what you do. You are different.
Later Jesus would explain, “I have chosen you out of the world.”[3] “You are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” Because of Jesus you now are different than the people of the world, you are like Jesus.
Because He loved His enemies, because He wanted to do good to those who hated Him, because He wanted to bless those who cursed Him, because He wanted you to be different, Jesus stepped into the ring to face The Opponent. The Opponent threw everything he had against Jesus. Pharisees and Sadducees said mean, nasty ugly things to Him and about Him. They talked behind His back, gossiped about Him, told likes about Him, and went out of their way to make Him look bad. But Jesus never spoke a sinful word to any of them, instead He shared the words of everlasting life with them. The Roman soldiers spit on Him, they beat Him, they drove nails into His hands and His feet. But Jesus did not exact a pound of flesh from them, instead He prayed “Father Forgive them.” You and I and the people of this world took advantage of Him. We asked that He be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; we asked that His life be given as payment for our sins. And… He gave it. No one took it from Him. He laid it down of His own accord.[4] He breathed His last breath and gave up His spirit for us.
When they took His battered and bloody body down from the cross and placed his lifeless corpse in the grave it looked as if He had been defeated. But three days later, after sin, death, and the devil had exhausted every effort to defeat Him, it was Jesus who was declared the champion of the world. It was Jesus who was seated at the Father’s “right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”[5] By being a dope on the ropes, Jesus defeated the devil.
By being a rope-a-dope Muhammad Ali did more than defeat George Foreman. In the years that followed the two opponents became friends. Days after Ali died, Foreman described his relationship with Ali in an interview. He said it was not that Ali was most powerful puncher or had the quickest reflexes, rather, it was his presence; there was something about him that Foreman admired, a style, a class that not only defeated Foreman in the ring but won him over as a friend for life.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He did more than defeat the devil, He won friends for life. Death had been swallowed up in victory, sin had lost its sting, and salvation was now available for all who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Later Jesus would tell His friends, “Because I live, you also will live.”[6]
God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He wanted it so badly He was willing to be a dope on the ropes. Don’t we want the same thing, even for the people who mistreat us, abuse us, take advantage of us. We could go toe to toe and blow to blow with the people of this world. We might get a couple good jabs in here and there. But what’s the point? Even if we knock them out, what have we really gained? The people of this world are simply trying to defeat opponents. But you are not of this world. You are different. Jesus told His disciples “35 love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.” You are not like the people of this world, you are sons and daughters of the Most High. As sons and daughters, you want what God wants, you want all people to be saved. You want it so badly that you are willing to be a rope-a-dope. May God give you the strength and stamina to endure till the bell rings. Amen
[1] Gardner, Ralph (October 1, 2013). "Madison Square Garden's Eye". Wall Street Journal.
[2] Luke 21:17
[3] John 15:19
[4] John 10:18
[5] Ephesians 1:20-21
[6] John 14:19