Posted on 02/24/2004 11:28:50 AM PST by Liz
In the end on the cross, Jesus said,
"Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do."
The crucifixion of Jesus was MAN at his sinful worst.
The Son of God on the Cross, forgave the worst that mankind can be, when they did not deserve it.
Nor do we deserve His forgiveness.
Yet, if he can forgive those that personally crucified Him, how much more forgiveness is there... for *you and me?*
And *that* my friend, is the point of God's peculiar demonstration of His love.
Watching the film is just catching a glimpse of what it must have been like. You know that, for all the protests about Gibson's "graphic" portrayal, he has provided only a hint at what the true horror of the actual scourging and crucifixion must have been like. And so much of Christ's suffering is off-screen, due to the collapse of time, cut-aways, flashbacks, and camera shots of the soldiers' or crowd's reactions.
As for the charge of anti-Semitism, I think the natural reaction to the film is for the viewer to desire to amend his life and avoid committing the sins which cause Our Lord to suffer so -- not to compound them by adding on new ones. The Jews that brought Him before Pilate and Herod are the ones who needed to convince them that He had broken Roman law and deserved death. Of course they will look bad. (Yet He forgives them.)
And I have not heard any of the media reviewers point out that when several of the high priests begin to complain to Caiaphas that "the rest of the council are not here" and that proper legal procedure is being violated, Caiaphas has these priests (in their robes and mitres) forcibly ejected from the hall. This scene is extra-biblical, but does drive home that in Mel Gibson's original script, Christ's condemners are portaryed as a minority faction of the high priests led by Caiaphas who railroad Christ via a kangaroo court.
After Jesus began his ministry, we only hear about his mother, brothers and sisters. Joseph just disappears.
Of Jesus' brothers, James and Judas (a.k.a. "Jude") became very significant leaders in the Jerusalem church. James, according to Josephus, was killed at the hands of the Sanhendrin. They didn't even bother asking Pilate's (or whoever was in charge...) permission.
After reading some of these reviews, I expected far worse. However, that said, the film is violent, the Roman soldiers and the Temple guards are both cruel.
I only teared up once, that when Mary went ahead of the crowd to get near Him, and when He fell, she ran to comfort Him. Rather, it was Jesus that extended comfort to Mary, "I make all things new".
That is the total message of the Passion. The punishment that Jesus received was foretold by Isaiah in Chapter 53. Read it again, and it will come more alive.
Through the Victory on the Cross, God provided through Jesus an answer to all of our problems.
He was nailed through for our sins
He was crushed for our evil nature
He was punished to bring us peace.
He was whipped for our healing
In hindsight, I think Mel held back some. Physicians tell us about the agony of the Cruxificion, just to get the next breath. I did not see that.
But what I did see was the selfish nature of mankind, everyone looking out for their own personal interests; Peter with his denial, Pilate with his career, the high priests with their power and position, even Satan, with his influence on the line.
Read Psalms 22,
Read Isaiah 53
Read the account from the 4 Gospels.
Read the Book of John, the one that stood with Mary.
For the Jew, Jesus was the one Isaiah foretold.
For the Gentile, Jesus was the one that opened the door for the reast of mankind.
For believers, for New Testament folks, our lives began at the cross and are renewed by the Resurrection.
Praise God, He lives
I agree with the AM's comments and would like to add that Liz has been a gracious and attentive, informed and thoughtful host of this passionate discussion.
Many thanks for your many graces, Liz. Blessed be the Lord our God who scatters His gifts abroad and weaves each one of them and each one of us into His great story.
Me too. That's a nice artistic flourish. There must be a lot that you miss in a single viewing. People are going to go back to see this movie again and again. I know I will.
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