I was very skeptical about A Great Awakening movie. I worried it would be the atypical low budget Christian film that would have no heart ans yet have plenty of preaching. How wrong I was. The Great Awakening follows Benjamin Franklin in middle of divisive political tensions that could be the sunset of America after it has barely been born. He seeks solace in memoirs of George Whitefield, a friend and business partner who was a Preacher from England that came to American Colonies. In an iconic scene when Whitefield preaches from a balcony, Franklin verifies that George’s voice could reach 30,000 people! This is actually a true experiment from Franklin and a testament to Whitefield God given voice!
One of Whitefield’s lines is “Awake O Sleeper!” which he says like a drum and then “awake!” Which is from The Scripture, “Awake, O sleeper,
andarise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephensians 5:14). Whitefield makes this a battle ry talking to people as if they are already dead and he is right, they are spiritually dead without Christ. The way the line is delivered both times in the film, especially at climax was so powerful, I felt my soul rise ans Holy Spirit fly about. There is no doubt Jonathan Blair who’s portrayal of George Whitefield is brilliant, he brings a gravitas and quaking with compassion to Whitefield’s preaching that I was in awe of. Blair’s talent is that when he’s on screen you are enchanted and he’s talking about Christ!
The film centers on two stories, Frabklin’s and Whitefield, ans the overlap, but I admit I much prefer Whitefield. Blair makes him such a likable man person concerned with the souls of colony that he is riding on horse 12miles a day to preach, by the time of his death in 1770 he did 60 miles a day! It is this zeal that that leads to Whitefield’s poor health, and camping in cold, and I ponder if he did not consider that he would have had a longer impact had he used carriages and not rode himself to the bone.
At Oxford Whitefield is converted by The John Weasley, another major figure in Great Awakening, who would found Methodism ans Charismatic sect. Whitefield is wooed to The Word of God by Weasley and his Bible Club who washes people’s feet as Christ did, “When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you?” (John 13:12) but he veers into works based religion where he almost fasts himself to death, and John Weasley rightly calls that the devil not God. It is in crucial place George discovers we are saved by grace not works, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This comes up later when Whitfield tells Benjamin Franklin his yearly virtue he masters is same man made religion (Mark 7:7) that nearly destroyed him. I loved this exchange and how George Whitefield as The Apostle Peter did, stood on grace, “Peter got up and said to them, Brethren, you know that quite a while ago God made a choice or selection from among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the Gospel [concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God] and believe (credit and place their confidence in it). Now then, why do you try to test God by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, such as neither our forefathers nor we [ourselves] were able to endure?
But we believe that we are saved through the grace (the undeserved favor and mercy) of the Lord Jesus, just as they [are].” (Acts 15:7, 10-11).
A fiction the film does present or heavily incline towards the viewer interpreting is Benjamin franklin coming to Christ at the end, after being man of reason and skeptic deist. This never happened, though prayer being instituted in Compressional Meetings did happen. This is where you have to sift through historical fiction and real history, the movie did get Franklin’s experiment that deduced it was true Whitfield could reach with his preaching 30,000 people, but it gets wrong Franklin came around to the Truth.
I highly recommend this film. It will inspire your faith and gives some true history about this Thunder of God speaker. It does not feel like low budget movie either, it fits nicely with John Adams HBO Series in style. While I know George meant “Awake O Sleeper! Awake!” as an evangelistic cry, I felt its potent word to the church, “Awake O Church! Awake! Stop Sleeping!” Suffice to say it left an impact on me, and has message that is crucial for our times: wake up and get back to prayer, for as Jesus said, “It is written,” he said to them, “’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Matthew 21:13). Amen.
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