Passionate Easter Movie
On Tuesday 9th March I had the
privilege, along with about 850 Church leaders in the London area, to see
a preview of Mel Gibson’s new movie “The Passion of the Christ”. This extraordinary film (released in UK cinemas on the 26th
March) tells the story of the final 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ,
with intermittent flashbacks providing the context.
The Film uses Aramaic and Latin throughout - with English
subtitles.
Critics claim the film is anti-Semitic because it
portrays the Jews at fault for the death of Christ. The graphic violence
of the whipping and crucifixion has also been criticised, with some
claiming it is too gory. Supporters
of the film insist the film stays close to the Biblical account and is not
meant to provoke anti-Jewish feeling.
They accept the scenes are graphic, violent and intense- but again
claim that they are merely telling it the way it happened.
Having seen the film for myself I would say the
following –
·
YES!
There are scenes of extreme violence, but not in my mind gratuitous
(with perhaps the exception of the crow pecking at the eyes of one of the
criminals in the crucifixion scene).
·
YES!
The Religious leaders of the time are portrayed as those demanding
Christ’s death, (But, I would agree with the comments of the supporters
of the film, that the film is mostly faithful to the Biblical account.) I
didn’t find that the film majored in on this.
The film also portrays the sinister cunning of the
Devil; the distress of Jesus’ followers; the desperation of Judas; the
horror of some of the crowd; the dilemma of Pilate; the sadistic cruelty
of some of the Romans; the indifference of Herod; the pity of Simon; the
heartbreak of His mother, Mary; the humanity and agony of Jesus.
I was moved to tears as I watched parts of this
film and for many I expect it will trigger a spiritual experience. The
brutal scenes of Jesus being whipped by the sadistic Roman soldiers and
then nailed to the cross are hard to watch – This film is definitely not
for the squeamish!
I encourage you to see this movie for yourself.
Beware, though: it may shock you, and is not advisable for the faint
hearted! (Cert. 18)
It is like no other movie – it isn’t
entertainment as such, in fact I found it very gruelling. But it did help
me understand in new ways the huge determination of Jesus, who could have
called on legions of angels to escape the ordeal.
Within the URC, with the tradition of the open
cross, we can sometimes forget the cruel details of the agonising
sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.
This film reminds us that even before His
crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost
unrecognisable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns and spat
on contemptuously. Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, He was treated
worse than an animal. Then, nearly unconscious from loss of blood, He was
forced to drag a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was
left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While
His lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making
fun of His pain and challenging His claim to be the Son of God.
Next, as Jesus took all of humankind’s sin and
guilt on Himself, Jesus cried out in total desperation, “My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?” Jesus could have saved Himself, but He chose
not to, so He could save you and me.
Why did God allow and endure such injustice,
cruelty and evil? Why? So you and I could be spared from eternity of
separation from God (otherwise known as hell). So we could instead share
His glory in eternity forever!
This
film reminds us in a powerful way that Jesus gave up everything so that we
could have everything. He died so we could live forever.
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