The Fairy Tale Come True

The Chronicles of Narnia were the creation of C.S. Lewis, a British writer who died in 1963. C.S. Lewis was a good friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, well known for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. At one time, they were both professors at Oxford University in England. They were also members of a literary group. Between the 1930s and 1950s, the Inklings consisted of approximately 15 members who met every Thursday evening. Most of the time they met at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, though sometimes at the Lamb and Flag. They were enthusiasts for the writing of fantasy and many of them claimed to be Christians. So, during their readings and discussions, they’d often talk about the Bible. Lewis, Tolkien and others in the Inklings were known to describe the Bible as “the fairy tale come true.” Many of the stories in the Bible sound like they come out of a fantasy story; perhaps they even sound too good to be true.

A Story of Death

The fairy tale come true is centred on the death of Jesus Christ. We find an account of how it happened in John 19. John has a special emphasis in his way of telling about Jesus’ death. John wanted people to see how Jesus gave himself willingly for the sins of those who would believe in him. He wanted people to see that so more people would praise God.

In verse 28 of John 19, we read, “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’” Before this, Jesus had already suffered many things. He’d been beaten and spit upon. People had been mocking him. He’d been nailed to the cross. Now at this point he knew his suffering was almost finished. He’d been hanging on the cross for a few hours, experiencing excruciating pain. To make matters worse, Jesus didn’t have any real supporters around. People had turned their backs on him. Even God had turned his back on him. Finally, Jesus knew that it was just about over. There was only one thing left to do: die.

But Jesus knew he had to die in a special way. He had to give himself to death. This was to fulfill what the Bible had said about the one who would save people from their sins. Jesus recognized this when he said in John 10:18, “No one takes my life from me. I give it by myself.” Christ knew it had to be this way.

That’s why he called out and said he was thirsty. He knew the worst part of his suffering was over. Now the only thing left was for him to give his life. Because he had to do this willingly, he needed one last burst of strength. To get that, he needed something to drink.

John tells us there was a jar of wine vinegar nearby. This would have been wine that had gone bad and turned into vinegar. It was mixed with water and would have been a cheap drink for the Roman soldiers. The people standing around the cross felt sorry for him. So, John relates, they took a sponge and soaked it in the wine vinegar and then used a stick to bring it to Jesus’ mouth. He drank what he could from it. After this, he had the strength he needed for one last act. He said, “It is finished.” When he said this, Jesus meant that all his work on the cross was done. Then the Bible tells us he put his head down and he died. But it says it in a special way: “he gave up his spirit.” That’s not the normal way the Bible tells us that people die. Christ didn’t just passively die the way people normally do. No, he gave up his spirit. That means the Saviour gave himself to death in an active way.

But what does it mean?

Now let’s think about what this means for us today. There are two things we can draw out of it. The first thing is that everything was finished here. John says that “all was now completed.” In verse 30, Christ called out and said, “It is finished.” That means good news for us. We can know for sure that Jesus didn’t go halfway in his suffering. He went the distance for us. Christ didn’t leave us with anything we have to do to save ourselves. He did it all. The only thing for us is to believe that he did this for us. Just trust in Jesus Christ that he has made things right between you and God and you will be saved from God’s anger against your sins. That’s the heart of the fairy tale come true. That’s why we call it Good Friday. When we believe this good news, then God gets more praise because we know how Jesus did everything so we could be saved. We don’t take any praise or credit for ourselves; rather, it all goes to God.

The same happens when we see how it was good for us that Jesus became thirsty on the cross. When he said that, then we know he was a human just like us. Christ was and still is also God. But in his suffering, we really see the part of him that was human. For us to be saved, we needed a man like us to be there on the cross experiencing God’s anger against our sins. God wouldn’t punish an animal or any other creature for what man did. There absolutely needed to be a man suffering on that cross, taking the curse of God in our place. So when Jesus said, “I am thirsty,” then we know without a doubt that he was the man.

This same Jesus today is still both man and God. When we go through hard times, Christ knows what it’s like. Hebrews 2:17-18 says, “So Jesus had to become like his brothers in every way. He had to be one of us to be our High Priest, to go between God and us. He had loving-pity on us and he was faithful. He gave himself as a gift to die on a cross for our sins so that God would not hold these sins against us any longer. Because Jesus was tempted and suffered as we do, he understands us and he is able to help us when we are tempted.” That’s the fairy tale come true. That’s the good news in Good Friday. Jesus Christ suffered as a man and so he can help us when we suffer. So, when we have hard times, we can and should turn to the Lord. Call to him and talk to him in prayer. He understands. We have a good friend in Jesus, somebody who really understands what we’re going through, because he’s been there.

Aslan and Jesus Christ

In the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan is put to death by the White Witch:

At last she drew near. She stood by Aslan’s head. Her face was working and twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad. Then, just before she gave the blow, she stooped down and said in a quivering voice,

“And now, who has won? Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was and so the Deep Magic will be appeased. But when you are dead what will prevent me from killing him as well? And who will take him out of my hand then? Understand that you have given me Narnia forever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his. In that knowledge, despair and die.”

The children did not see the actual moment of the killing. They couldn’t bear to look and had covered their eyes.

C.S. Lewis acknowledged that there were Christian themes in the Chronicles of Narnia and these themes are evident also in this passage. Some have understood the Chronicles to be directly allegorical – as if every element represents something of the Christian faith. It appears Lewis didn’t want readers to go in that direction. Rather, he wanted to prepare children and others for the Christian message through the use of Christian themes.

This is clear in Aslan’s death. Compare Aslan and Christ. In the fairy tale, Aslan is put to death by another. In the fairy tale come true, Christ actively gives up his own life. In the fairy tale, Aslan pays for the debt of but one human, Edmund Pevensie. In the fairy tale come true, Christ pays for the debt of many human beings. In the fairy tale, Aslan comes back to life, but through some vague principle of the “Deep Magic.” In the fairy tale come true, Christ rises from the dead of his own accord and power. There are parallels, but the fairy tale come true is much more compelling and far more inspiring. It is so much more awesome. It’s the only story whose conclusion truly does involve a “happily ever after.” But it is only so for those who believe it. Do you?