The Passion
March 03, 2004

I'm fairly certain that I've heard all the arguments for and against "The Movie."

Unless you've been living under a rock on Mars, you've been following the hubbub about Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ."

I made plans to come home to Ripon on Thursday to spend the weekend. I had an appointment with my chiropractor Friday morning. After sixteen months of sleeping on a variety of beds and airplane seats, my back was complaining. So I went to see my friend, Dr. John Beech (prior Navy guy), in Turlock, CA. As always, he straightened me out. I feel great!

Friday night, Bear & Pat Waters — friends from church — invited my mother, Isaura and me to join them in seeing "The Passion of the Christ." We arrived at the Riverbank movie complex prepared to stand in line. Only one problem: Lots of other folks planned to do the same thing! We were in line at 6:30 for a 7:35 showing, and already the line was at least fifty yards long. I rarely attend movie theaters, so I have no way of gauging people's reactions. What I did notice as folks exited the movie was there was practically no chatter as you might expect from people who had just been sitting for the last two hours.

Finally, it was our turn, so in we went. The movie was running about a half-hour behind at this point, but no problem. From the outset, the movie had my attention. The next two hours went by very quickly as I found myself caught up in the intensity of the drama unfolding. Isaura put it well when she said later that it felt as though you were right there witnessing Jesus' final hours.

Now allow me to share some thoughts with you, which I shared with my congregation on Sunday morning.

• Amidst all the hype and criticism of this movie, remember that it is simply that: a movie.
• The charge that the movie is anti-Semitic is baseless.
• Who killed Jesus? Everyone, and no one.
• There are parts of the movie that clearly reveal Mel Gibson's Catholic background.
• It was, indeed, very violent.
• Pontius Pilate was portrayed historically well.
• It was not always biblically or theologically correct in every detail.

There's more I could add to this but let me extrapolate a bit on what I've listed.

First, this is just a movie. It is not the real event. That occurred only one time about 2,000 years ago. The New Testament record of this event is not exhaustive. It wasn't intended to be. Therefore, some literary license would be needed in presenting the story in a movie format. Gibson did this. I would have changed some things, but it wasn't my movie, and it sure wasn't my $30 million invested!

Second, the film has been roundly criticized for being anti-Semitic. I heard this from rabbi friends who themselves admitted to having not yet seen the film. What I observed was this: the Jewish religious leaders hated Jesus and wanted him dead. This is accurate based upon biblical text. No problem there. But there were also Jews who were heroic. In particular, the man chosen to help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way up Golgotha's hill was portrayed as attempting to stop the Roman soldiers from continually beating Jesus. The actress who played Mary, the mother of Jesus, is an Eastern-European Jew. I also sat and watched the credits at the end of the movie. I noticed the name of the Casting Director: Rubin. Many years ago I dated a girl in Beverly Hills with the name of Rubin. She was Jewish. Only someone who was already anti-Semitic would come out of this movie being anti-Semitic.

Third, the question of who killed Jesus has been bandied about in the media. The answer is everyone did, and no one did. No one actually killed Jesus. He voluntarily went to the cross. He even told Peter he could have called on twelve legions of angels (that's 72,000 angels!) to rescue him if he had wanted to. But he didn't want to. He chose to die for our sins. Furthermore, on the cross he chose the moment to die. Even the Roman soldiers were surprised that he was already dead. But understand this: it was all of our sins that compelled the love of God to pay the price on that old cross. That's why Jesus could say in John 15:13-14, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." In John 10:15 Jesus says, "I lay down my life for the sheep." It was his choice.

Fourth, the parts that reveal a Catholic emphasis have no bearing on the message and would probably not be picked up by the average viewer. One scene has Jesus wiping his bloodied face on a towel offered by Mary Magdalene. Later we see her holding the towel with the impression of his face clearly seen on the towel. This is indicative of the Shroud of Turin. It does not detract from the power of the movie's message.

Fifth, the violence in the movie was extreme. It should be. Roman crucifixion was extreme. You may be sure that the soldiers weren't sitting around playing checkers with Jesus. They were very good at what they did to those selected for execution. I wouldn't necessarily have young children see the movie. Not unless you, as an adult, are willing to watch it with your child so you can explain what has taken place and why.

Sixth, Pontius Pilate was a rough character. His was the soldier's life. He was not a politician. I believe his portrayal in the movie was well depicted. You see, there were two previous incidents in Pilate's rule as governor where he had run-ins with the Jewish leaders. He'd had his hand slapped by Caesar on both occasions, to the point where he was recalled to Rome and told if there was one more such incident, he was through. So, who was this itinerant preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, that Pilate should sacrifice his career? Add to that a dream Pilate's wife had about Jesus, and her warning to her husband not to have anything to do with him, and you have a man caught in a real quandary.

Last, not everything in the movie was exactly correct according to the Bible. But the places where this is true are not significant to the movie. For example, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked them who they were looking for. They said, "Jesus of Nazareth." He said, "I am he." The scene then shows the soldiers hesitating; when in fact the Bible says they fell backwards to the ground because Jesus had said, "I am he."

So what should be done with this movie? Is it perfect? No. Here's my recommendation.

• If you haven't already done so, see the movie.
• Use the movie as a springboard for talking about the gospel. Everyone is talking about this movie. You may never have a better opportunity than right now to talk so openly to people who are receptive to the message.
• Remember: If you are a Christian, your life in Jesus is the message, not the movie.

My prayer is that you will be as passionate about sharing your faith with others as Mel Gibson has been in providing this excellent film. Don't miss it!