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Learning the Bible from Pinocchio
Although The Adventures of Pinocchio, a classic of children’s literature, was originally written in February of 1883 by Carlo Collodi, the movie adaptation by Disney (February 7, 1940) is, without doubt, the most well known version of the book. These Bible lessons relate more to the Disney version than the original book although some of them may relate to both.
The lessons to be learned are in Italics.
The Characters:
Pinocchio, the puppet made of wood. He wants to be a real boy, but doesn’t know how.
He is the sinner.
Ghepetto, the puppet maker. He wants a son who will love him as a father.
He is the Creator, God, the Father, and God, the Son.
The Blue Fairy, the Guide and encourager who gave physical life to the puppet/boy. This is God, the Holy Spirit.
Jiminy Cricket, The puppet’s adviser.
He is the human conscience.
Pleasure Island, the place where boys who act like jackasses, begin to look like donkeys.
This is the obvious results of sin.
Monstro the Whale, the final consequence of Pinocchio’s disobedience.
This is Hell and the grave.
The Story:
Ghepetto, the lonely puppeteer makes a puppet that he loves very much. He names it Pinocchio. He moves Pinocchio about as if he can dance and sing and talk, but without Ghepetto’s help the puppet can do nothing. Ghepetto wishes the puppet were a real boy who could commune with him and love him back. Lonely and tired, Ghepetto goes to bed.
God created man in his image and gave him a free will, so that we would love Him because we want to, not because we must. God didn’t want “puppets” that only do what he makes them do.
While Ghepetto sleeps, the Blue Fairy comes and gives the puppet life, although he is still a puppet.
Our physical life is given to us by God, but we are born into sin. We are born with a sinful nature so, without God, we are prone to sin.
With that life the puppet receives a conscience (Jiminy Cricket). Now Pinocchio is able to move by his own free will without Ghepetto’s help. But the only way he can become a “real” boy, is to learn to know the difference between right and wrong and choose to do good and not evil.
God made “The Way” for us to be saved. We can only become a Christian God’s way. That way is to believe God’s plan of salvation.
The conscience, if Pinocchio listens to it, is there to guide him, and if he doesn’t, is there to convict him. He has a hard time listening to his conscience until it’s too late.
Our sinful nature causes us to sin! We can’t save ourselves because we are sinners.
We need to listen to our conscience or it will become seared. In other words, it will cease to warn us that we are headed in the wrong direction.
Pinocchio is easily pulled by his “friends” into doing things that seem to be appealing, fun, and enjoyable, but in the end, they turn him into a donkey, something he does not want to be, stuck in a place he does not want to be.
Watch out for “friends” who have a bad influence on you.
Even in a perfect situation like the Garden of Eden, man had difficulty obeying God. God only gave Adam one rule to follow and he failed.
Sin leaves its scars and changes us into something that we don’t want to be.
Sin has consequences.
Ghepetto, his father, willingly risked his own life by going to find and save his child. He ends up in the belly of the whale because of his son’s disobedience.
Jesus went to the cross for us and literally into Hell to rescue us from our sins. He gave His life for us because He loved us so much.
Too late Pinocchio realizes that he was foolish, and has disappointed his father. When he goes to find his father, he also ends up in the whale. They must find a way to escape or they will die. They find wood to burn and make the whale sneeze.
When Jesus died on the wooden cross, Hell gave up its captives.
Pinocchio actually died in the rescue attempt, and his father wept for him.
When we are saved, we become dead to sin… but alive unto God.
Jesus wept for sinners.
The Blue Fairy brought Pinocchio back to life and made him a real boy.
By believing in Jesus and trusting Him, we are now alive unto God, saved, and a true child of God.
We receive the Holy Spirit to guide us in our Christian life.
The story of Pinocchio relates so closely to the story of God’s working in the salvation of a soul. If you look at it carefully, no doubt lessons other than these will come to mind that you can teach your children.
Debbie Boush – 2009
For other bible lessons using Children’s Literature:
Harry the Dirty Dog: Lost Dog, Lost Son
Where The Wild Things Are
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and a Chance to Pray
Children Who Love Jesus may be at risk of catching: A Bad Case of Stripes
December 21st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
[...] Learning the Bible from Pinocchio -by Debbie Boush [...]
July 7th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
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