My favorite Indiana Jones movie is The Last Crusade from 1989. To begin with, how could you beat the rousing duo of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery? Every action-packed scene captures your attention from beginning to end.
Yet, beyond the heart-racing thrills, I discovered some interesting takeaways in this movie for my life as a believer.
The theme of the movie is the search for the Holy Grail; the cup of Christ used at the Last Supper. In the movie portrayed as the cup that offers eternal life or the gift of eternal youth.
Indy’s father, Henry Jones, played by Sean Connery, has made it his life’s work to research and find the Holy Grail. He has compiled his findings into a book filled with notes. Henry Jones goes missing but sends the book to Indy for “safe keeping.” The time of the movie takes place during the reign of Hitler. In collaboration with the Nazis, but unknown to Indy, is a wealthy American collector of antiquities named Donovan. He convinces Indy to help him in the search for the grail. Donovan has also kidnapped Henry Jones.
Do You Believe?
At the beginning of the quest to find his father and the Holy Grail, Indy asks his friend Marcus helping him, “Do you believe?”
Marcus replies, “The search for the divine is in all of us.” Scripture would agree with Marcus. “From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). Though Scripture also tells us that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws them (John 6:44).
These verses demonstrate God’s intent for all to know him. He makes a way for us to search for him and draws us to himself. God’s efforts to reach us leave those who continue to reject him without excuse.
Your Glory or His?
As Indy’s search continues, he meets up with a woman by the name of Elsa. She too is a historian who knows Indy’s father. They combine efforts in the pursuit for the grail and Henry Jones. Soon they encounter a religious sect responsible for protecting the discovery of the grail. One of them asks Indy, “Why do you seek the cup of Christ? Is it for your glory or his?”
I think this is a relevant question for us to ask every time we use our giftedness or spiritual gifts. It takes honest reflection, not something we should just pass over assuming we are doing it for God’s glory and not our own.
The movie moves on with Indy finding his father, and the two of them trying to escape from the Nazis. In the process, Elsa takes Henry Jones’s book of notes, and we discover she is also a Nazi.
After several more thrilling scenes involving tanks, horses, close rescues, and Nazi deaths, those who remain end up all together. The list includes Indy, Henry Jones, Marcus, more Nazis, Donovan, and Elsa. They are now in the temple ruins where the grail is, yet still undiscovered.
Our antagonist, Donovan, sends two unwilling Nazis to walk a corridor to find the grail. They both end up decapitated. He decides the best way to motivate Indy to brave the perilous passage is to shoot his father. He then tells Indy and his father, “The healing power of the grail is the only thing that can save you now. It’s time to ask what you believe?” Given no other choice, Indy proceeds.
Humility, Knowledge, and Faith
Recorded in Henry Jones’s book are three clues to guide him safely through. The first clue is when Indy realizes he must humble himself by kneeling. This prevents the loss of a third head, his own.
The older I get, the more I realize the importance of humility as it relates to God. The humility of Christ is our example. Jesus is gentle and humble of heart. Matthew 11:29. We can easily measure our humility by our pride. “In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
The second clue entails his knowledge of how to spell Yahweh in Latin. I doubt whether knowing Latin would save my life one day. Though without the knowledge of God, I’m sure doomed. I recited the verses from Proverbs 24:3-4 as part of my wedding vows to my husband. “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.” You or I will never hold the same cup that Christ held, but within our reach we can know God. He is where we find our value and true wealth.
The last clue to see Indy through to reach the grail depended on his faith. Stepping out with nothing visible beneath his feet but an endless-appearing chasm. I can’t imagine faith ever counting more! You can’t watch the scene without asking yourself, “Would I have enough faith to step off a cliff, hoping a bridge would suddenly appear?” What if you saw Jesus on the other side of the chasm beckoning you on? Like Jesus asking Peter to join him when walking on water. Matthew 14:29.
Do You Choose Wisely?
At last, Indy reaches the cave where the Holy Grail resides along with dozens of other cups. Elsa and Donovan follow him in. Guarding the grail is an ancient knight! The knight tells them, “You must choose, but choose wisely. The true grail will bring you life; the false grail, will take it from you.” Elsa chooses a cup and hands it with confidence to Donovan. He fills it with water and takes a drink. This is the point when you grab your children and cover their eyes! When our evil antagonist dissolves away in the most unbecoming manner.
Then, with as much energy as someone breathing their last breath, the old knight delivers the most quoted line of the movie. “He—chose—poorly.” Now it’s Indy’s turn, who, of course, chooses wisely.
This scene of choosing the right cup reminds us of how people rushed to Jesus for healing. He was a healing magnet for all who touched him. Mark 6:53-56. When the prize, however, is healing, we miss the true prize.
Indy races back with the grail while the old knight warns him, “Don’t take the grail beyond the seal.” He pours the eternal healing water on his father’s wound, and his dad recovers. Hooray! I hate seeing Sean Connery die in movies.
Letting Go!
Then my favorite scene takes place. Elsa grabs the cup and takes it beyond the seal. The ground shakes, splitting open, and the cup drops into a large crevice, landing on a ledge. Elsa reaches for it, falling into the crevice, but Indy grabs her. With one hand holding onto Indy’s and the other stretching for the grail, he can’t hold her. Goodbye, Elsa! Indy then attempts the same feat. The cup is just out of his reach. Now it’s his father holding onto Indy, telling him, “Give me your hand, Indiana. Indiana, let it go.”
I hear my Savior tell me those same words all the time, “Give me your hand, Nancy, Nancy, let it go.” I have a huge list of “let it go” items in my life. Some are material, some are relational, some are time-wasters, some are health-related, some hinder me spiritually. It’s a list I’ll be addressing and redefining for the rest of my life.
At the end of the movie, Henry Jones tells his son, “Elsa never really believed in the grail; she thought she’d found the prize.” The significance of the cup that Christ held meant nothing to her. The wealth and health that the cup would bring meant everything. Prosperity gospel personified! Our belief in what the cup of Christ represents is the true prize. The shedding of his blood for our sins. No temporary gain can ever substitute for Christ’s sacrifice.
Indy then asks his father, “What did you find, Dad?”
Henry replies, “Illumination.” What spiritual illumination did you discover in reading this? As you continue your quest to know Christ more fully, what is he telling you to let go of?