“The Passion of the Christ” Review
http://www.thepassionofthechrist.com/

February 27, 2004

Stunned. It’s hard for me to write this article because I don’t want to think about it. By the time we got through His scourging, I was emotionally numb from the impact of all the violence. And it’s not just anonymous random violence…it was like watching the person you love most in all the world being viciously beaten, tortured, and killed…and being helpless to do anything about it.

Two things kept running through my mind. One is that it is beyond my comprehension that Jesus was able to resist the temptation to just call down a legion of angels and wipe us all out. I mean, here He was…He left the Father’s presence and came to earth in obedience to the Father for our sakes…all He ever did was to try to help and love people and try to guide them back to God...and look how we treated Him. While He was subjected to the brutish violence and ridicule of those surrounding Him, it must have been a great temptation to think “THESE are the people I’m dying for? They’re not worth it…” and end His pain by having Judgment Day right then and there and give us all the death we so richly deserved. But instead, He said “Father, forgive them…they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). He chose to be “obedient unto death” (Philippians 2:8). And no one “took” His life from Him, He laid it down on His own initiative (John 10:18). He “loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

The other recurring thought I had was…”no…please…not for me…”

Concerning how accurately it parallels with the Bible, there were definitely some “dramatic license” taken with certain parts (such as Satan’s intermittent presence and whisperings and Judas’ being tormented by demon-possessed children). However, the central events of the last hours were presented pretty accurately and some of the dialogue was verbatim from the Scriptures.

Many have raised a furor about whether the movie is ant-Semitic. However, that really is the wrong question. No one has questioned whether the role the Jews played in the death of Jesus (who was Jewish, by the way) is portrayed as described in the Gospels. Mel Gibson went to great lengths to ensure that it was accurate and responded to the criticism by removing the subtitles where the mob cries “His blood shall be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). So if anyone has a problem with how the Jews are portrayed in the movie what they really mean is that they believe the Bible is anti-Semitic (which is ludicrous). But as with many other things today, people don’t seem to be concerned with what the truth is as much as whether it offends someone.

Speaking of which, on one of the morning TV shows they were discussing the movie and the host asked the minister if it is possible that the Biblical account of the crucifixion is “theologically true but historically inaccurate” as if they were two separate things. The world has swallowed the propaganda of the pseudo-intellectual left that the Bible somehow contains great philosophical truths but is not literally true…After two thousand years we still hear them echoing Pilate’s “what is truth” (John 18:38)?

But do I recommend the movie? It’s difficult to give a “yes” or “no” answer. I mean, it is extremely painful and traumatizing to watch. To recommend that you go see it makes me feel like I’m recommending that you volunteer to be emotionally brutalized. I would definitely advise against bringing children under 13. And even if you have older children, you might want to go see it first before you decide whether to bring them.

I feel like I witnessed Jesus being crucified. If you desire to better understand the price that Jesus paid for you and I…..if you feel that you can bear to witness your most intimate companion brutalized, tortured, and killed…then go.

“I had never seen the Son of God the way I see Him now
I had never seen the tears of shame He cried

I had never seen the crown of thorns they pressed upon His brow
I had never seen the blood that He applied

But I’ve sent it now
And it’s all that I can stand
It’s becoming a part of everything I am.”

“Seen It Now” – Pat Terry