Return of the Jedi with Paul McDonald, Britt Mooney, Josh Boyer, and Rob Whisler
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we collaborate with the guys from JB’s Bible and Bourbon podcast to discuss The Return of the Jedi. We talk about homecoming, success, training and discipleship, but the primary theme of this movie is redemption. Luke Skywalker wins, not by beating the bad guy, but by redeeming him. How can we redeem the world around us? Listen and find out as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Luke Skywalker wins, not by beating the bad guy, but by redeeming him.
It’s actually a position of strength to be merciful and gentle.
Once we’ve had our training, we put it into practice. That’s when our faith becomes real.
Your mentor can’t fight your battles for you.
When you’re stepping into where God has you, humility is key.
Our success is obedience.
Salvation comes when we realize we can’t break the power over us.
Killing Vader in the cave condemned Luke.
As sons, we see more out of our dads than they see out of themselves.
What if redemption came through love, not sermons, or teaching, just love.
Themes
Preparing for the Homecoming
Luke returns home with maturity, patience, and confidence. Directs the action instead of reacting to it.
Completion of training does not mean we have arrived. There’s still something in us that needs to be tested, proved, and reconciled.
Luke is told he has to face/confront Vader, not kill, destroy, or fight. Confront.
Luke experienced humility in Empire Strikes Back—humility is key to transformation.
Redemption
Luke isn’t just walking in the force, but with the intent of good for others.
He has to face who he could become in order to defeat it.
Contrast between the Dark Side and the Light Side
Light
Strength in being merciful
Marked by restraint, humility, empathy
Dark
Give in to your fear, anger, hate
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.
The dark side actually has power over the Sith, keeps them prisoner, slaves to their master.
The emperor fed Anakin lies to feed his anger and his hate.
Parallels
Star Wars and Return of the Jedi: Both start with a holographic image from R2-D2
Anakin turned to the Dark Side with a fear of losing Padme. Luke was tempted to turn by the fear of losing his sister.
Revenge of the Sith: Anakin has to choose between helping Mace Windu or helping Palpatine. Return of the Jedi: Vader has to choose between saving his son or watching Palpatine kill him.
Resources
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” - Romans 12:18 (NIV)
“Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” - Luke 9:23 (NLT)
“ am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” - 1 John 2:12-14 (NIV)
“Service for God is overshadowed by intimacy with God.” - John Eldredge in Fathered by God
“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” - Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
“A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is... A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in.” - C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity
Questions
What do you love about the original Star Wars trilogy?
Which Luke do you associate with most: going in guns blazing, or walking with patience and confidence?
How have you experienced training?
What did it take to prove yourself after being trained?
How does humility strengthen you?
How does the Dark side work in your life?
Why did killing Vader in the cave condemn Luke? How would he have been condemned if he killed Vader on the Death Star?
How did you come to know Jesus? How was love shown to you through that process?
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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