Filled with a different kind of passion�
I saw the film The Passion of The Christ two weeks ago at a huge pre-release viewing for a couple thousand people at Azusa Pacific University, including a pre-show interview with Director Mel Gibson and a lesson from his media guys on how “you, too, can sell this movie to your friends and peer groups,” filled with URLs to pass on and phone numbers to call.
I was initially really excited to be there. Excited about my VIP pass. Excited about the hype, to be a part of what I felt was the beginning of “a movement,” or, as Mel’s camp was promoting, “The biggest outreach opportunity in 2,000 years.”
I can say honestly that I was put off before the movie even started. Lee Strobel, a well-known Christian author who was interview Mel Gibson, asked if he felt the movie really deserved it’s “R” rating. Mel’s reply: “Ooooooooh yes.” Why? “It’s two hours of watching a man being brutally tortured to death.”
And there you have it folks. The Passion of The Christ in its entirety.
There is something to be said about understanding the pain and anguish that Jesus endured. I think it’s very important for many people who have lost their way, who have forgotten the sacrifice. But there is so much more to be said of Christ’s love and they way he lived life. The movie shows brief moments of humanity when, in flashbacks, you see Jesus as a boy with his mother, Jesus redeeming Mary Magdaline from a life filled with emptyness, Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as a loving act of service. But I wanted more of that. I needed more of that. I wanted a movie about the life of Christ and what he stood for. But I suppose that wouldn’t be the Passion. I guess I just wanted a different kind of passion. Passion that leaves me with hope, not with guilt and anger.
One of my favorite columnists, Mark Morford from the SFGate, is not religious, and I don’t think he’s even seen (or will see) the movie. But maybe he touches on something here that we’d be wise to explore: “You can think you need to have your spiritual belief coated in gallons of blood and death and grisly sacrifice and really bitchin’ cinematography, of cruel beatings and nightmarish tortures and gruesome crucifixions�or, you know, you don’t. Jesus, rumor has it, didn’t die for sin. He died for enlightenment. He didn’t die so people would walk around all day in ugly nail necklaces thinking about bloody violent death, swapping quote cards and thinking they know something of the divine. He died to indicate humanity’s need to purge itself of hate, war, violence and ego — you know, all those things now performed in his name.”
Thank you for your honest words. I personally had a different reaction to the movie, but I can understand how someone would feel disgusted by all the gore.
There’s something to be said, though, for realism, especially if it helps drive home a theological point — in this case, the love of God demonstrated in the suffering Jesus endured for sinners. I of course fit into that category of persons, which is why I was so deeply moved by the film. I was as revolted as anyone else by the graphic violence, but my revulsion evoked in me intense feelings of gratitude and worship, because I knew what the violence represented.
I take issue with the assertion by the SFGate columnist that Jesus didn’t die for sin. In fact, the Bible teaches the very opposite. There are too many verses to cite, but I think it’s worthwhile to note just a few:
- Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
- Before Jesus was born, an angel told Joseph that his fiancee Mary would give birth to a son, and he was to give him the name Jesus (which means “the Lord saves”), “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
- When Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized, John the Baptist exclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!
- At Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, he offered them a cup of wine and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
- After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, his disciples spread the good news about him. Peter summarized the good news this way: “God exalted [Jesus] to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31).
- Paul was a zealous persecutor of Christians until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. While addressing Jews in a synagogue, Paul declared, “I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you” (Acts 13:37-39).
- The New Testament affirms over and over again that Jesus died for sin. It would be tedious to quote every verse, so I will just list a representative sample: Romans 3:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2. There are many more.
The truth that Christ died for sin is very good news. It means I can be forgiven, reconciled with God, adopted as his son or daughter, and granted eternal life. It means I can pursue an ongoing personal relationship with the maker of the cosmos and receive the joy and peace that comes from knowing him.
All of this can be appropriated by faith alone; I do not need to first attain some ideal through my own effort, or hope that God will randomly pick me among the billions of people vying for his attention. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and anyone who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus’ disciples were murdered for espousing this very message. They were willing to die for him precisely because his death purchased their redemption, not their enlightenment.
Anyway, those are my (unsolicited) thoughts. Thanks again for your post!