Posted on 02/29/2004 9:16:18 PM PST by SJackson
I walked out of "The Passion of the Christ" early as Jesus was carrying the cross up the Via Dolorosa. We had a baby-sitter deadline. Besides, I already knew the ending. It's right there in the Gospels. None of the four New Testament accounts of Jesus' suffering and death is as lurid or sadistic as Mel Gibson's. But the biblical versions all tell the same story.
Jesus gets on the nerves of the Jewish priests of Jerusalem. They demand that the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, put him to death. Pilate is at first unwilling but eventually orders the Crucifixion.
End of story.
At least to me. I don't believe Jesus was resurrected, that he was the son of God or the Messiah. I think of him - when I think of him at all - as just another charismatic revolutionary who threatened the status quo and paid with his life.
But I'm a Jew, not a Christian. And despite what many Jewish critics seem to believe, "The Passion" wasn't made for us. Or about us.
Judging from the reactions I see on TV, a lot of Christians - Protestant and Catholic alike - come out of the theater deeply moved by Gibson's movie. This reaction infuriates some Jewish scholars and activists. Gibson's distorting history, they charge. He lets the Romans off too easily. He puts the blame on the Jews. By which, of course, they mean: on us.
These Jews need to relax.
Gibson is telling a 2,000-year-old story. Most Christians are smart enough and reasonable enough to understand the distinction between Caiaphas and Jerry Seinfeld. It is insulting to suggest otherwise.
It also is insulting to instruct Christians on how to interpret their own religious texts. Hey, you're not allowed to read the Bible that way any more, the critics say. Go ask the Vatican. Check with the Harvard Divinity School.
This is reminiscent of recent American efforts to convince the world's Muslims that their reading of the Koran is incorrect.
The plain fact is that the Gospels are Christianity's collective account of the saga of Jesus, and, quibbles aside, "The Passion" is faithful to that account. Gibson didn't write an original screenplay. If his movie is anti-Semitic, it is because the New Testament itself (like the Koran) is a book that aims to supersede Judaism by discrediting it.
I know, I know, passion plays were used to whip up pogroms in medieval Europe. But in the words of an Israeli basketball coach on the eve of a road trip to Germany: What was, was.
And what is, is.
Today, Muslims are waging a worldwide jihad against "Zionists and Crusaders." Devout Christians are the allies of the Jews in this war. Branding these Christians as dumb and potentially dangerous bigots is obnoxious. It also is impolitic.
In fact, Jewish activists should embrace "The Passion." After all, if Jesus was divinely sent to die for mankind, then the high priest Caiaphas was God's instrument. If Jesus was just another rebel from the Galilee, well, no harm, no foul.
Besides, there is a pro-Israeli message in Gibson's movie.
Lately, Yasser Arafat has taken to declaring that the original inhabitants of Israel were Palestinians. But there are no Palestinians in Gibson's Jerusalem, just as there were none in the Gospels. Jesus and his disciples are as Israeli as Ariel Sharon.
The Arabs are still 600 miles and 600 years from the Holy Land.
If the Anti-Defamation League were smart, it would stop bugging Mel Gibson for an apology and ask instead for a couple hundred copies of the movie.
Will some who "don't get it".... or don't understand who all the players are have negative feelings toward jews? Maybe.
But that's not the issue. The issue is that the biblical story was told in a very POWERFUL way. And in light of the controversy... we as christians should be prepared to discuss it with those who aren't but happen to see the movie. Because they will have a lot of questions due to the nature of the movie.
But anyone who sees this movie and then feels hatred for modern Jews is merely revealing what was in his heart all along. Christians believe that it is our guilt that Jesus died for, not just for the guilt of a handful of priests 2000 years ago, not just for the guilt of a sadistic band of Romans and not just for the guilt of any group of people alive today. This movie also leaves us with a great hope and a positive outlook for the future, so I would say to any Jews who are worried, don't worry. God loves you and so do we. Our Manager is Jewish, so He keeps us from any thoughts of antisemitism :)
Good line.
The Arabs are still 600 miles and 600 years from the Holy Land.
If the Anti-Defamation League were smart, it would stop bugging Mel Gibson for an apology and ask instead for a couple hundred copies of the movie.
Great article, Jackson. Thanks.
If this were the case the whole New Testement is a waste of time. I would never "Wish I wrote this", this movie is total waste if you think Jesus was just a nice crazy guy who thought he was the son of God. And someone just though up the resurrection for Bible filler.
He seems to have made a decision to find allies where he can.
"This is reminiscent of recent American efforts to convince the world's Muslims that their reading of the Koran is incorrect."
He asserts Foxman is wrong to argue about the film, not on the merits, but because it is pointless to try and there is already a common enemy.
Absolutely.
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