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Curated Sermon Illustrations from Acts 3

Explore powerful illustrations to bring Acts 3 to life. Discover stories, analogies, humor and more as you illustrate the timeless truths from scripture.

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Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

With the recent release of a new installment in the Indiana Jones movie series, our family decided to re-watch the original trilogy (I like to act as though Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never existed), which were some of my favorites growing up. Two of the three (and might I argue, the best) films endeavor to find lost items from Judeo-Christian history, first the Ark of the Covenant, and then the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus drank out of at the Last Supper. Each item is being sought after by Jones, but also the villains of the films, in both cases, the Nazis.

Neither films would pass an intro to Theology course in either the Jewish or Christian faith, and yet there is at least one scene worth considering from a faith perspective. In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones must pass three tests to reach the Holy Grail (with the stakes raised as his father, played by Sean Connery dying from a bullet wound and in need of the healing waters from the grail to survive).

The first test, called “the Breath of God” is the one worthy of our focus today. Indiana hasn’t figured out the puzzle, but as he approaches with what could be his last steps, he whispers over and over again the one clue: “Only the Penitent Man Shall Pass.” As the wind (breath) begins to blow through the chamber, Indy has only a few moments to pass the test. At the very moment he needs to figure it out (cue high drama) he gets it. Here’s the actual words from the film:

The penitent man is humble before God. The penitent man… The penitent man is humble. Penitent man is humble… [kneels before God] KNEEL!!

The second he kneels, two massive circular saws emerge from the wall, just missing Indy’s head and his famous fedora. As I said earlier, the theology would not pass muster in any seminary, but it does get one thing right: the journey of faith, even for the hero, begins with repentance.