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Jeff Shepherd
My View of The Passion
I shared with you a few days ago that you should go see this movie. I shared the view based on what I had read from trusted Christian leaders and now having seen the movie myself I would underscore that statement again. You definitely want to see this movie! I have heard many people praise the movie and I have heard some who criticized the movie for various reasons. Some of them felt it was anti-semitic or too violent or whatever. I saw the movie Wednesday afternoon and it was an excellent movie. It’s not perfect but neither was Cecile B DeMille’s movie, The Ten Commandments. Between the two I would say this movie is much more Biblically accurate than The Ten Commandments.

There aren’t enough adjectives to describe it. It was powerful, gripping and painful at times due to the graphic scenes. It will definitely leave a lasting impression on you. This movie is destined to be a classic. It isn’t a movie that you will watch over and over but if it is released on DVD I will definitely buy it.

There were some scenes which I wondered why they were there because I could not find any Biblical basis for them and there were others which I wondered why they weren’t there but then it’s only a two hour movie. Gibson uses a hooded woman to portray temptation in the Garden of Eden. I was impressed with the image of the snake (an albino python) which crawled out from under her skirt. Jesus finally put an end to her temptations by crushing the head of the snake with His heel, a vivid reminder of the prophecy in Genesis, when God told Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen 3:15)

Although the film’s focus is on the last day before Christ’s crucifixion, Gibson uses some very effective flashbacks to remind us of what Jesus taught His disciples. When he is being beaten there is a flashback to when he was teaching the multitudes (in the Sermon on the Mount) that they should love their enemies and pray for those who persecute you… (Matt 5:44-46) “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same?” During the crucifixion we see flashbacks to the last supper when Jesus was explaining to his disciples that the bread they were eating represented His body which was being broken for them and the wine represented His blood which was being shed for them. The message was very clear that Jesus’ death was to pay for their sin.

But there was one scene which I have yet to figure out. The hooded woman representing temptation is shown in the scene while Jesus is being scourged carrying a baby which is obviously a symbol of evil. That scene has troubled me. I’m not sure what to make of it.

The scourging is graphic as it should be. I don’t think any of us can grasp how terrifying that must have been. I hesitate to describe it because it was so painful to watch. The woman (I didn’t know her) who sat next to me in the theater jerked every time the “cat-of-nine-tails” was lashed across Jesus’ back. Before the “cat-of-nine-tails” was used on Jesus one of the soldiers lashed the desk of the officer in charge and torn a chunk of wood from his desk. The “nine-tails” was a whip with bits of glass and metal in the end of it which would cut into the flesh and grip it like hooks. When it was pulled back it would tear the flesh leaving large scars in a man’s back. The scourging went on and on and seemed as if it would never end. Just imagine how endless it must have seemed to Jesus!

The soldiers who whipped Jesus seemed to enjoy the task of brutalizing a criminal but in this case they were brutalizing the Son of God. As they reveled in their task I imagined that I was one of those men. Every time I sin it was as if I was striking the back of my Lord with one of those whips. Deep Sigh…Pause to think. It was a gory scene but it was like I was there 2000 years ago to witness what actually happened. It wasn’t fun to watch but it was important that I watch what happened to my Lord in order that He might pay for my sin. After the scourging Christ was brought back to Pilate who presented Him to the crowd saying, “Behold the man” hoping that they would be satisfied with the scourging. But they weren’t. Why weren’t they? Because it was necessary that Jesus should die on the cross to pay for my sin and for your sin. Scourging as painful and wicked as it was, was not sufficient to pay for our sins. The Jews didn’t kill Jesus, nor did the Romans. I killed Jesus! We all did. We can’t lay the blame on anyone else
As Jesus carried the cross down the Via Do La Rosa toward Calvary, his mother was following Him, getting as close as she could. He stumbled many times and it was agonizing to watch the persecution He endured but I thought as I watched it, “was He feeling sorry for Himself as he traveled that lonesome road? Did he ever say, “This isn’t fair Lord? Why are you letting this happen to Me?” I know I’ve said that to Him many times. No He knew why he was traveling that road. He was on His way to die for you and me and there was nothing that was going to prevent Him from fulfilling the purpose for which He came. He was going to drink the last drop from the cup, the one from which we could not drink. As he told His disciples, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for His friends.”  (John 15:13)

When He reached the hill called Calvary, the Roman soldiers nailed him to the cross. I cannot describe the detail that Gibson gave to that scene but it was clear that it wasn’t bothering the Roman soldiers at all. They enjoyed every minute of it. The thieves mocked him, the crowd railed at him and even the chief priest challenged Him to come down from the cross if He was the Son of God. But He didn’t. Why didn’t He? He could have called 10,000 angels and come down from that cross anytime he wanted. He could have killed every last soldier who was there with one word. But He didn’t. Why didn’t He? Because He had to finish the task for which He was born. He had to die to pay for the sins of every person who ever disobeyed Him. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” How can a man or even God love us so much that He would endure the cross, despising the shame in order to pay for the sins of those who hated Him. If it had been me and I had the power that He had I would not have stayed up there. No way! But Jesus did!

When He died he said, “It is finished! Into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” The phrase “It is finished!” means the debt is paid. The Greek word is “tetelestai.” It was a commercial term used when a debt was finally paid off. When Jesus died on the cross He paid my sin debt in full. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. There isn’t one thing I can add to the payment He made for me. All I can do is accept His gift on my behalf. I was bankrupt and he bailed me out of debtor’s prison. I was in bondage to sin and He set me free. That’s what Jesus death meant for me. The movie ends shortly after you see Jesus being taken down from the cross. There is a brief glimpse of the resurrection but only a glimpse. If possible I would love to see Gibson or someone do a sequel of this movie dealing with Jesus’ resurrection to His ascension into heaven because it was the resurrection that convinced the disciples that Jesus had set them free from their bondage to sin.

After the crucifixion the disciples were discouraged and disheartened. They were like sheep without a shepherd. They didn’t know what had happened on the cross. The debt was paid but they didn’t know it yet. Even after some of the disciples had seen the Lord, Thomas refused to believe it until he could put his hands into the nail prints in Jesus’ hands and thrust his hand into His side. He was convinced that there was no way that Jesus could be alive after watching how He died. When Jesus appeared to Thomas in John 20, he fell down before him and said, “My Lord and My God.” (John 20:28) Never before had Thomas understood who Jesus really was until that moment. It was the resurrection that finally convinced him. So let me encourage you to go see the movie. Better yet take a friend with you who doesn’t know the Lord but be sure you help them understand what is going on. They may not grasp why it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross or why it was necessary for Mel Gibson to show us all the blood and gore that accompanied that event. But it was necessary so that we who believe on Him and receive His payment for our sin might have eternal life. Go see this movie! You won’t enjoy it but you won’t forget it either!

Jeff Shepherd
1 Cross + 3 nails = 4 giveness
Since March 11, 2003

 

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