The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time
#11 – Biting the Poisoned Apple
Genesis 2:9, 3:1-7,22-24 and Revelation 2:7 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (NRSV)
By John Gill ~ September 15, 2024

Today we come to the end of the most unusual sermon series I have ever preached in my ministry: “The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time.” As we have looked at the stories of our childhood, we have learned eternal truths that parallel what the Bible teaches. We have considered the lessons taught by such stories as the Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Red Hen, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Dumbo, Stone Soup, and Pinocchio. It's been great fun for me, and I hope it has been fun and meaningful for you. I'm sure none of us will look at these familiar stories in quite the same way ever again!

In some ways, though, I have saved the best for last. Of course, the other ten messages reflected great biblical truths: like the importance of love and faith, seeing ourselves as beautiful because we are created in God's image, the importance of resisting temptation, being a genuine Christian, working together as members of the body of Christ, and building our lives on a solid foundation. But none of these stories cuts to the heart of the gospel quite like the story of Snow White 1 does.

If we were debating favorite children’s stories, I think you could make a case that Snow White is the most familiar and popular children's story of all time. Certainly, it is so well known that I wouldn't need to recite the story to you.

You know, nowadays, when we preachers bring the message on Sunday morning, we cannot just take for granted that, if we mention some bible story in passing, everyone in the congregation would know what we are talking about. But, if I were to refer to the dwarfs in Snow White, not only would every one of you know how many of them there were (7), many of you would be able to name every one of them! (After all, Snow White is the oldest and first full-length animated movie in history, being released in 1937! We all have seen it many times – we know it by heart!) Yes, it's too bad that we are so much better informed about the stories of Walt Disney than we are about the stories from the Holy Bible!

Anyway, I have chosen Snow White to end our series because, in many ways, it is the most theologically profound of all the children's stories we've studied. Biblical themes and images echo through this story like thunder in a valley, inviting us to take a closer look at the underlying messages hidden there: themes of life and death, and life again; of the allure of temptation and the consequences of surrendering to temptation; of the struggle of good against evil; of the fleeting powers of Satan, and the ultimate victory of God.

All that in Snow White?! Yes, and probably more! In fact, I could preach a whole miniseries of sermons just on Snow White! But, for our message this morning, I'd like for us to focus our attention together on the deadly power of a poisoned apple, and the reviving power of a loving kiss.

You remember the story, I am sure. Snow White was an orphaned princess. Her father, the king of the land, had passed away leaving the kingdom to be ruled by his second wife, Snow White's demonic stepmother. The queen, who was extremely vain, hated Snow White because the queen's “magic mirror on the wall” kept reminding her that Snow White was more fair than she. So, the wicked queen tried to have Snow White murdered.

But, Snow White escaped to the forest and was taken in by seven dwarfs, to whom she became something of a mother-figure. In fact, Snow White discovered that she was very happy with her new life in the forest; it had become a kind of idyllic paradise for her. But even though she was happily living with the dwarfs, her heart still pined for the handsome prince she had fallen in love with before she had been forced to flee for her life. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the queen discovered her hiding place and made plans that she would kill Snow White, herself.

So, the evil queen, who was also a sorceress, changed her appearance so she looked like an old hag, and armed with a poisoned apple, set off to visit the little cottage in the forest. And Walt Disney will pick up the story from there:

Video Clip https://youtu.be/uHiXe2l3AaE

In our lesson from Genesis, we read a different story about an apple; an apple that has the power to destroy OUR paradise, and bring US death and grief. And, that is ironic because, in both our stories, the allure of the apple was in its supposed power to bring life and joy!

In both stories, our protagonists are duped into believing devilish lies, - and, because of their inability to resist temptation, each of them falls into Satan's trap. What lies? Think with me about the story of Adam and Eve:

According to the story from Genesis, God planted a tree in the Garden of Eden that was off-limits to Adam and Eve (“The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”). And Adam and Eve managed to obey God; that is, until the serpent comes along and strikes up a conversation with Eve: “Oh, you won't die, God's just saving that fruit for himself. He doesn't want you to eat the fruit of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil because, if you do, you will be just like God! Now wouldn't that be great? Go on - take a bite!”

You know, when we think about this story, we usually conclude that the sin represented by this tree is a prideful arrogance in wanting to be as knowledgeable and wise as God. Or, we focus on the disobedience of the man and woman in rebellion against the command of God. And of course, both of these views are correct. But I believe there is a more basic motivation for Adam and Eve to want to eat the fruit of The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I believe they are grasping at immortality.

The servant entices them by suggesting that, once they have taken a bite of the magic apple, their greatest wish might come true - to “be like God.” In other words, to be immortal and never die.

But, in fact, the apple brought only death and separation from God. Instead of gaining eternal life, Adam and Eve received a death sentence. In rendering his judgment, God says to Adam, “You shall return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Snow White also fell for the lie. “This is no ordinary apple, it's a magic wishing apple. One bite, and all your dreams will come true.” She did - and died.

What about you? Satan is always dangling a sweet succulent “magic apple” in front of our noses and inviting us to take a bite. What is the lie he is whispering in your ear? What is the dream that you wish would come true?

When you get right down to brass tacks, you and I want the same thing Adam and Eve desired - immortality! We want to be like God - to live forever.

Woody Allen put it like this: “I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” The lie tells us that the way to immortality is to forget about God, and bite the magic apple. What are the magic apples we bite hoping to secure immortality?

Some people think power will make them immortal - that's what motivated men who have wanted to conquer the world: men like Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Adolf Hitler. And, although we study their lives in history classes, every one of them has gone the way of Adam - and returned to the dust.

Others try wealth, building great business empires, huge stock portfolios, and amassing tremendous riches - only to leave it all behind when they go to their grave.

Some have tried constructing huge monuments to themselves, like the Pharaohs of Egypt, believing that the bigger the pyramid, the better the trip to the afterlife. But their shriveled mummies and their treasures can still be seen in museums today.

Then there are those who believe that they can somehow live on through their children, as though their soul is somehow passed down along with their genes and chromosomes.

Many of us have convinced ourselves that we can live on through the good deeds we perform in this life, as if we are earning brownie points with God. But the Bible tells us over and over that our eternal life has nothing to do with how philanthropic we may have been on earth.

There are even those who strive for a kind of immortality by committing the most despicable acts of violence and terror, knowing that history will at least record their names.

But it's all a lie! None of these magic apples we try can bring us immortality or eternal life. Yet, that doesn't stop us from taking bites of the apple. And, as soon as the apple passes our lips, we have condemned ourselves - to death.

Friends, that is what theologians call, “The Fall” or “Original Sin.” We may begin life with “Original Righteousness” but inevitably – due to Free Will, we corrupt ourselves - we prefer our way to God's way; we rebel against God's love; We listen to the lies of Satan and we willingly take a bite from the poisoned apple, believing that it will make our wish for immortality come true. The Bible puts it plainly, lest we miss the point: “For as in Adam, all die … the wages of sin is death …”

So the stories of Snow White and Adam and Eve both expose the lie of Satan that condemns all of humanity to death. But the good news is that these stories also reveal the truth of God about how eternal life is possible.

Do you remember what the creation story in Genesis tells us? God planted two trees in the garden! The fruit of one, as we have seen, brings death. But the fruit of the other, ‘The Tree of Life,” can give life!

Adam and Eve desired eternal life. So, why didn't they try to eat the fruit from The Tree of Life? That would make sense, wouldn't it? Why did they resort to pluck the fruit from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?

I have a theory. I think they did not try the fruit of The Tree of Life because that fruit was beyond their reach. You see, eternal life is not something we can attain for ourselves by stealing fruit from a forbidden tree. The only way to receive eternal life is to be invited by God to taste the fruit on The Tree of Life. The Bible makes it clear that eternal life cannot be earned, or bought, or stolen, or won like a prize. Eternal life is a gift of God, made possible by his Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the Ultimate Tree of Life - the cross of Calvary!

Remember the two scriptures I quoted a moment ago? There's more to each of these verses. “For as in Adam all die…, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Yes, “The wages of sin is death…, - but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When we open our hearts to Jesus and claim this free gift for ourselves, we are invited back into the Garden of Eden and welcomed to eat the fruit of eternal life. Listen to what the risen Christ says to us in the Book of Revelation: “To anyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from The Tree of Life that is in the paradise of God.”

Snow White tasted death. But death was not the end. You see, in life she had given her heart to the prince - the son of the king. And because he loved her so much, the prince sought her out - and, with a kiss, gave her life again.

Friends, you and I have taken a bite from that poisoned apple. As a result, we all face death. But death doesn't have to be our end, either. Our bridegroom, our Prince – the Son of the King of the universe, seeks out his beloved - his bride, - you and me who lie in death, - wanting nothing more than to give us the kiss of life.

And so, the childhood story of Snow White confronts us with the most important question we will ever have to answer: “Have you given your heart to the Prince?” If you have, then you have nothing to fear in death - because Jesus loves you so much that, when your body fails and you “sleep” in death, he promises to seek you out, to lean over his beloved sleeping in death, - and kiss you back to life!

And then, as all good stories should end, you and he will live happily ever after.

Footnote:

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1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt Disney Co. 1937

© 2024 by John B. Gill, III