THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)

Directed by: John Sturges
Written by: Walter Newman, William Roberts
Studio: United Artists
Starring: Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen
Rated: PG-13

About the film:
A gang of seven gunslingers with no vested interest in the cause for which they were hired nevertheless try to protect a tiny Mexican village from invading bandits.

Movie Quote:
“You think I am brave because I carry a gun? Well, your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility: For you, your brothers, your sisters, and your mothers. And this responsibility is like a big rock that weighs a ton. It bends and it twists them until finally it buries them under the ground. And there’s nobody says they have to do this. They do it because they love you, and because they want to. I have never had this kind of courage.”
O’Reilly (Charles Bronson) in The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Bible Quote:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?”
Luke 11:11 (NIV)

Commentary:
What leads a man to make the ultimate sacrifice? It is a question that strikes at the heart of Christianity. After all, our Lord and Savior was sent to earth for the sole purpose to sacrifice himself for us. Like Jesus Christ, the seven gunfighters in The Magnificent Seven chose, for reasons of their own, to risk their lives in order to bring freedom to people they didn’t know.

Sacrifice is an unusual thing to explain. The survival instinct within man is strong and unrelenting. And yet, at times, it is available for man to suppress his natural survival instinct in order to give dominance to a stronger force – a force that compels him to give his life in order to save another.

A father knows instinctively that he is capable of giving his life for his child. Anyone who has been blessed with a child knows this. Of course, our God takes this a step further. He allowed his only begotten son to suffer and die in order that he might welcome more of His children to His side. Such love is difficult to fathom. But it is not impossible to understand.

God empowered us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He enabled us to free ourselves from the bondage of fear and death. He did this for one reason only. He loves us.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. Why did these gunfighters decide to stay and fight for a village that wasn’t theirs?
2. Compare the qualities and attributes of the gunfighters. Did these qualities help to determine whether or not they survived the battle? Why or why not?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com