Anyone who’s ever watched a Star Wars film has pretty much already heard the gospel. After all, the films are chock-full of symbols and allegories that represent Jesus and His great sacrifice for mankind. In fact, Star Wars probably talks about Jesus even more than the Bible itself does.
This is all old news to you if you’re a good Christian, like, at all. But for the more carnal Christians who haven’t picked up on the really clear references to the Savior in the Star Wars universe, here are the ten most blatantly obvious.
George Lucas – Lucas is the creator, reviled by his fans, who goes to painstaking lengths to save his creation but is still despised by many. The Star Wars creator and visionary is definitely the most obvious Christ figure in the entire Star Wars saga.
Salacious Crumb – To the untrained eye, this little lizard-monkey cackling at the slightest provocation simply provides a little bit of comic relief during the dark Jabba’s Palace scene. But the super Christian will recognize Salacious Crumb as a beautiful picture of Christ, who bravely fought the C-3PO of sin and death for us. Crumb even died during the assault on the sail barge, just like Jesus died for His people. Powerful stuff, folks.
The Jawas – The Jawas lived and died in the desert, just like Jesus. The Jawas were not impressive in appearance or presence, just like Jesus. But most importantly, the Jawas would find old, broken junk scattered across the landscape and make it into something beautiful—JUST. LIKE. JESUS. He makes beautiful things out of the dust, as the Bible says.
Porkins – “I’ve got a problem here.” “Eject.” “I can hold it.” “Pull up!” “No, I’m all—Aargh!” These are the last words of Jek Porkins as he sacrificed himself for humanity. And as we watch his burly figure hurtle through the blackness of space for the last time, engulfed in tongues of fire, we see beyond Porkins and into the eyes of Christ, who died for our sins. Moving beyond words.
TK-421 – Did Jesus come to earth as an exalted ruler or esteemed philosopher? No, He came in the form of a humble poor Man from Galilee—a nameless, faceless poor Man, like common working-class Stormtrooper TK-421. And what’s TK-421’s great claim to fame? Why, it’s that he wasn’t at his post—just like Jesus wasn’t on His throne during His humiliation on earth. Whoa.
That weird blue drink Uncle Owen’s pounding down on Tatooine – Carnal Christians probably fly right through the scene in which Uncle Owen’s trying to keep Luke on the moisture farm for another season. But those who have become sensitive to Christ figures will note the Bantha milk Uncle Owen is drinking is blue—probably a reference to Christ’s tears in the Garden of Gethsemane—AND it provides life-giving sustenance in the middle of the desert, representing the abundant spiritual life Jesus gives us.
The pair of proton torpedoes that took down the Death Star – Against seemingly impossible odds, the brave, selfless proton torpedoes sacrificed themselves to take down Death itself, by exploiting a poorly engineered exhaust port vulnerability—pretty much an exact picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. There were even two of them, representing Jesus’ two natures in the mystery of the hypostatic union. Of course, this brings us to another powerful Christ figure…
The Death Star – Awe-inspiring. Teeming with power. Can destroy entire planets with a big green laser. Are we talking about Christ, or are we talking about the Death Star? Bet you can’t tell! And guess what happened shortly after the Death Star was seemingly defeated once and for all? That’s right… it was resurrected as the Death Star II. Bruuuuuuuuuuh!
Kylo Ren’s lightsaber – Kylo Ren literally wields a cross as his weapon of choice. And what color, pray tell, is the cross he fights with? Crimson. Red. That’s a powerful picture of the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sins if ever we’ve seen one.
The entire prequel trilogy – You may have noticed we haven’t mentioned any Christ figures present in the prequels. Well, that’s because in a rich, deep metaphor, George Lucas made sure the entire prequel trilogy functioned as a Christ figure itself. See, Jesus endured our scorn and our shame, just like The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were slammed for shoddy acting, writing, and directing. Plus, how many films are there in the prequel trilogy? That’s right—THREE—exactly the number of persons in the Trinity. How deep does this rabbit hole go, George Lucas, you beautiful genius!
Feeling the power of the gospel in Star Wars yet? It’s definitely time to go watch the films again, and see how many more Christ figures you can spot!
Jesus Christ is King
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