Narnia: The Witch's Spell Series

Introduction: Today we are continuing our sermon series, “Lessons from Narnia.” The land of Narnia is a magical land created by C. S. Lewis in the series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” The first book, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” will soon be a major motion picture. The book and the movie share our Christian world view and gives us an incredible opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with our friends and neighbors.

Last week, we looked at “The Lion’s Roar.” In C. S. Lewis’ books, Aslan represents Jesus. Aslan is a powerful lion who is not safe, but He is good. He is King of Narnia, yet He gives His life for sin, is resurrected, and restores the land of Narnia to a new golden era. We discovered that the lion of Narnia and the Lion of Judah roars with a holy, loving, and winning roar.

This week we are going to focus on the witch in the story, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” At one point in the book, two of the children, Lucy and Edmund are discussing the White Witch: “The White Witch?” said Edmund. “Who’s she?” “She is a perfectly terrible person,” said Lucy. “She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all…And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia-always winter, but it never gets to be Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by a reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head.” (Chapter 3)

The witch corresponds to the devil. We can learn about our adversary from Lewis’s story and from God’s Word. 2 Cor. 2:11 (NIV) says…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Before we get into the story, I would like to say a couple of things about the White Witch:

• First, the White Witch is white, not because she is good, but because she is cold and frosty. She is evil. The concept of a good witch probably began with Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz. Today there are growing number of folks, even in our area, who call themselves White Witches. The implication is that they are good witches. It is one thing to have a witch in a fantasy, but in this world, that there are no good witches. All witchcraft is forbidden by Scripture. In Lewis’ book, the Witch is represented as evil. Don’t let her title fool you.

• Secondly, in our culture there is growing myth that evil is equal with good…good and evil battle each other and the outcome is uncertain. Some folks might even believe that evil is more powerful and stronger than good. Some TV shows, the main character is bad or corrupt…some even portray evil as a counterbalance of good. In our culture the Darkside battles it out with The Force and we wait to see who will win. That makes for a good movie, but in reality we know from Scripture that the Darkside hasn’t a prayer.

To become aware of his schemes let’s look at the witch’s spell in Narnia, and what God’s Word has to say about Satan’s spell. In the story we discover that the Witch’s spell…

1. CURSES CREATION – We are told throughout the book that the witch makes Narnia always winter and never Christmas. The land is under a curse. In a later story, “The Magican’s Nephew” we learn about the details of creation of Narnia, but also learn about its fall. We learn who the witch is and how she got into Narnia. We learn that the Fall of Narnia and the reign of the witch came about because of a son of Adam and man’s sinfulness. Like our world, Narnia is under a curse. It is cold, frozen, and always winter. Winter is a time when plants lie dormant and lifeless and symbolizes a time of lifelessness or a season of death.

Rom 8:18-22 (NIV) I consider that our present sufferings are not worth compar-ing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expecta-tion for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustra-tion, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Not only do we long for Christ’s coming and for things to be set right, all of creation is longing for the curse to be reversed. Gal. 1:3-5 (NIV) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.