SCRIPTURE and SCREEN
Scripture and Screen
John 3:1-17

by Daniel Dick

John 3:1-17

There is a misconception in our culture that real men don’t cry. Machismo dictates that “real” men suck it up, knuckle down, and deal with anything and everything that comes their way. I defy any “real” man to watch McG’s 2006 sportspic, We Are Marshall— a heartbreaking and triumphant fictionalization of the November 14, 1970 plane crash that killed 37 players and 12 coaches from Marshall University—and not shed a tear or three. The film tells the story of the worst tragedy in college sports history, the amazing way the student body pulled together to deal with their grief, the march toward honoring the memory of the football team by resurrecting the football program, and the rough and rocky road back to normalcy, and ultimately victory. This story is an amazing allegory for the power and possibility of resurrection.

Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengvel, the replacement coach who faces the formidable tasks of replacing a popular coach, recruiting new (and grossly inadequate) players, coping with the pain, grief, and sorrow of an entire community, and seeing past the immediate problems to a brighter, grace-filled future where winning and achievement will once more be reasonable. He has to whip a rag-tag group of replacements into a team worthy of their predecessors. His warmth, humanness, and sensitivity carry a powerful message—life is hard, and resurrection is even harder, but together anything is possible.

The Thundering Herd (Marshall’s team name) died. Real players—real young men and their coaches—died in a horrible plane crash. A university, and indeed the surrounding community, suffered a kind of death as they mourned so much loss. And yet, something survived—a spirit, a name, and a hope. A new team, a new Marshall, rose from the ashes of ultimate defeat to live on—not just for itself, but for the team that died. They created a future, not just for themselves, but for the families and friends of everyone who lost a loved one.

The passage from John’s gospel that relates Nicodemus’ covert nighttime meeting with Jesus is among the most recognizable in scripture, if for no other reason than it contains John 3:16. But beyond that, it predicts and defines the heart of the Christian gospel.

(from www.goodpreacher.com/blog/)