Sermon Illustrations
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe": Death Turned Backwards
The movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is based on the classic novel by C. S. Lewis about four London children who are sent to a professor's country home for protection during World War II. There, they find a magic wardrobe leading to a mystical land called Narnia. To defeat the White Witch, who holds the land under her evil spells, they must join forces with Aslan, the King of Narnia.
One of the four children, Edmund, has been promised a lofty position in the kingdom by the Witch (Tilda Swinton) if he will bring his siblings to her. He succumbs to the temptation, only to find that she has used him.
When Edmund is rescued from the Witch's clutches and brought under the care of Aslan, the Witch protests. According to the laws of Narnia, Edmund, a traitor, must die. Aslan saves him, however, by willingly dying in his place.
In this scene, Susan and her sister, Lucy, are walking away from the stone table on which Aslan's lifeless body lies, when suddenly the ground shakes. They stumble and turn around to see the stone table broken in two and Aslan's body gone.
"Susan!" shouts Lucy.
"What have they done?" asks Susan as they approach the stone table.
Suddenly, Aslan appears.
"Aslan!" they shout.
As the girls hug the huge lion, Susan perplexedly says, "But we saw the knife, the witch…."
Aslan responds, "If the witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the Deep Magic differently; that when a willing victim, who has committed no treachery, is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack, and even death itself will turn backwards."
Rating: PG for battle sequences and frightening moments
Elapsed Time: DVD chapter 20; 01:53:06 – 01:54:34