Todd Clippard

Topic(s): Christian Life, Jesus

From the day "The Passion" was announced to the media, I must say I looked forward to seeing it. This may sound gruesome, but the primary reason I wanted to see this movie was to see the violence portrayed in the last day of Jesus. So many movies and artists' renderings of the crucifixion present a sanitized version of the event. The beating, scourging, and crucifixion of Jesus, or any other individual, was an extremely violent, brutal, and torturous process.

Most people in our country have no idea what such an event would look like. However, the people of Jesus' day routinely saw men publicly beaten, scourged, and crucified. I believe this is why the Divine record of John 19:1 simply records, "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him." No details were needed as John's audience was conversant with the process, having been witness to it on many occasions. I hope this movie will help us to better realize in some small way what Jesus endured on that day. However, there is one thing that must be remembered . . . "The Passion" is only a movie. Therefore, it will of necessity fall short of what actually transpired. There are some things the camera cannot capture within its lens:

1) The absolute perfection of Jesus - "The Passion" begins in the garden of Gethsemane. Therefore, the three-year mission of Jesus: His teaching and healing the sick (Matt 4:23-7:29); His compassion for sinners (John 8:1-11, Matt 9:10-13); and His love for all men (John 10:9-10); His response to and attitude toward His enemies (Matt 22:15-22); His abhorrence of all that is evil (John 2:17); and the fact Jesus never sinned in word, thought, or deed (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15); none of this can be captured on film. (Continued on back page)

2) The agony of Jesus - Jesus hung on the cross for 6 hours. This followed a night without sleep, betrayal by His own disciple (Luke 22:47-48), a beating at the hands of the Jews (Matt 26:67-68), abandonment by the eleven apostles (Matt 26:56), Peter's denial (Luke 22:54-62), His mistreatment by Herod and his soldiers (Luke 23:8-11), the scourging ordered by Pilate (John 19:1), and the bearing of the cross to Golgotha (John 19:17). Every minute on the cross must have seemed like an eternity - thus Jesus endured 360 eternities before finally giving up His spirit into the hands of His Father. "The Passion" is only 2 hours long; therefore, it can not possibly capture the incredible suffering of Jesus.

3) The travail of Jesus' soul - Jesus bore the sins of the whole world in His body on the cross (1 Pet 2:24; 1 John 2:2). As one who could not abide sin, neither did any sin abide in Him, this mental anguish must have been indescribable. Speaking of Jesus, Isaiah 53:11 says, "He (God the Father) shall see the travail of His (Jesus') soul and be satisfied." How could one ever capture on film such an incredible element of Jesus' death?

Moreover, there are some liberties taken in the movie. Mr. Gibson is a Catholic, therefore the movie is staged along what are known among Catholics as the fourteen "Stations of the Cross" in the crucifixion of Jesus. There is no biblical evidence for these stations; they are a product of Catholic theology dating back to the Franciscans of the 14th century.

There are a number of other unscriptural liberties taken in the movie, and there were some things omitted, but this was to be expected. Again, the movie was only two hours long, and some things just could not be included. Overall, I believe it to be a fair and accurate portrayal of the events surrounding the passion of Jesus. Additionally, this movie is NOT anti-Semitic.

I generally view as good anything that provokes discussion in religious matters. Christians should be able to intelligently discuss such matters as they arise. I hope this movie will open the eyes of many to the reality of Jesus' death and the events surrounding it. What good will come will be determined by what Christians decide to do in response to the movie.