Passion of the Christ: Notes on the Symbolism

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[Askel5]

NOTES ON THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST SYMBOLISM

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These are personal notes from a group discussion with a priest called Fr. Sean of the Legionaries of Christ. The discussion took place on Friday, February 27, 2004 at the St. Joseph Center in Alhambra. Fr. Sean said he has seen the movie 6 times and that his order had a priest on the set every day that Mel Gibson was shooting the movie. Because of this, he was privy to much information about the symbolism throughout the picture. Please forgive me if the notes seem to ramble. They are merely a guide to ideas brought up in discussion that night and are by no means a comprehensive list.

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1. What was the meaning of the evil baby that Satan was holding?
   
   

   That image of Satan holding an ugly child is an anti-Madonna image. The child represents the future persecutions of the body of Christ, the Church. The child is ugly because evil is a deformation of good. The child is stroking the face of Satan because evil perverts what is good. The stroking symbolizes the love of evil, much like a child would love its mother, but in a perverted way. Remember this image happens when Jesus is being scourged. His body is being wounded. His body is being persecuted. It is an image used by Mel Gibson to show Satan flaunting his future plan of persecution of the Church in the face of the sacrifice of the Lord.
   
   

2. Why is this movie so violent?
   
   

   The violence you see Jim Caviezel endure as Jesus is really a reflection of the violence that sin does to our souls. Violence is the effect of sin on our souls. It destroys and disfigures us. It maims us. It makes us look inhuman, ugly and hideous before the Father. The violence also represents the price of our redemption. Since Jesus took on our sin, He was made sin for us according to St. Paul, He took on the punishment of that sin. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) This is the purpose of the violence in the film, to get people to realize the price that is paid by the body of Christ when people commit sin and the price paid by the Savior to set us free.
   
   

   There was a discussion about the Agony in the Garden scene.
   
   

   Fr. Sean brought up the idea that the reason Jesus suffered in the Garden was because that is the moment He took on sin for us. St. Paul says that God the Father made Jesus to be sin. This is the moment when it happens in the Garden. Since Jesus is the Son of God and God is pure love, taking on the sin of the world, yours and mine, the sin of a Hitler, a Stalin, a Genghis Kahn, etc., was an excruciating experience for Him. At that moment, pure Love was forced to coexist with the evil effect of sin in the agony Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane.
   
   

3. In the Garden of Gethsemane, what is the snake a reference to?
   
   Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Notice that Jesus suffers immensely while Satan adds to His burden but then Jesus makes a decision to do the will and with that resolve he stomps on the snake to kill it.
   
   

4. There are plenty of Mass references in this picture.
   
   

   When Jesus is being stripped, the movie flashes back to the Last Supper when the bread is brought to the table and uncovered. When Jesus is being elevated on the cross after being nailed to it, we see a flashback to the Last Supper when Jesus raises the bread and says, This is my body. The apostle John is shown as the one who remembers these flashbacks and who makes the connection between the Bread of Life on the cross and the Breaking of the Bread at the Last Supper.
   
   

5. When is the first time we see Mary?
   
   

   Just as Jesus is arrested and put into chains. She wakes up saying, "Why is this night different than any other?" And Mary Magdalene responds that this is the night that they were set free from slavery. Where do these lines come from? They are the words that the youngest says to the oldest at a Jewish Passover/Seder supper ritual. In this case, the oldest was saying them to the youngest because this was THE night that would set in motion the plan of salvation to set us free from sin. The new Passover had begun with Jesus as the Lamb. Maia Morgenstern, a Jewess herself, had the idea to use these lines in the scene and when she explained them to Mel, he agreed they had to be included in the picture to tie everything together.
   
   

6. When is the first time we see a maggot?
   
   

   In the Garden of Gethsemane when you see one crawling in and out of the nostril of Satan. It is a very quick scene. When do we see a maggot again? When Judas finds himself sitting next to a maggot infested mule. The maggot represents death and corruption.
   
   

7. In this picture Pontius Pilate was portrayed sympathetically. Why so?
   
   

   Mel Gibson wanted him to represent the struggle of every man when faced with moral choices. It was obvious to Pilate that Jesus was an innocent man. It was obvious to Pilate that Barabbas was corrupt. (It was no accident that his makeup made Barabbas look even more evil and deranged.) To Pilate the right choice was obvious but he did not make it because of his own fears and the pressure from an unruly crowd he wanted to appease. Mel's message was that every time we choose sin, the choice is always obvious like the choice between Barabbas and Jesus. Of course there are times when the temptation that approaches us is very beautiful in appearance, but down deep inside, we know what the choice should be and very often we do exactly what Pilate did and afterwards try to wash our hands to relieve our guilt.
   
   

8. Why was there a scene when Jesus falls over the bridge only to find Judas at the bottom?
   
   

   Judas has just denied Jesus in the Garden. At this moment, Judas represents every man who when faced with the truth denies it. In this scene, he represents every man who runs away from the truth and Mel Gibson wanted to remind the audience that you cannot run away and hide from the truth because the truth will always find you. In this case, Jesus has been arrested, is beaten and falls from the bridge while hanging in chains right in front of Judas. The Truth found Judas even though he had denied Him and tried to hide from Him.
   
   

9. [Notes on Satan's Placement]
   
   Notice that in the picture whenever Satan is shown, he is always in the background moving behind the scenes. Notice he is always in the background whenever there is intensity and anger in the foreground directed towards Jesus. This is symbolic of his actions motivating the aggression and intensity of persecution against the Body of Christ, the Church, and also is symbolic of his responsibility behind all evil motivations.
   
   
10. The Dove
    
    When Jesus is before Pilate, He notices a dove in the sky above Him. It represents a reminder of the vertical dimension, the relationship between man and God. We as human beings are often caught up in the horizontal dimension (relationships with men and worldly affairs) and forget there is a vertical dimension. The vertical dimension represents the spiritual life, the relationship of a soul with the Father. The vertical dimension is what is more important and the dove is a reminder to Jesus that the vertical dimension is in control despite the appearance of the situation.
    
    

11. Why do Mary and Mary Magdalene clean up the blood on the cobble stones after Jesus is scourged?
    
    It is because it is Jewish tradition to save the blood. Life is in the blood. Blood had to be collected. This is also representative of the cleaning of the vessels at Mass when a priest is done with the consecration and giving out the Eucharist. The blood was precious and Jesus' blood particularly is precious. Notice that they also collected the instruments that made Him bleed at the very end of the film when you see the crown of thorns, the nails and the hammer at the foot of the cross as they take down the body of Jesus.
    
    
12. [The Miraculous at Golgotha]
    
    There is a scene at the crucifixion where Mary Magdalene is the only one who sees a miracle happen. It is a very quick scene and it happens when she is on her knees (notice that the only ones on their knees are Mary, John and the Magdalene at the crucifixion). Jesus has been nailed to the cross and the Romans are turning it over. You expect Jesus to smash His face into the ground when the cross falls over but it does not happen. Instead what you see is the Magdalene looking up to see that the cross is floating above the ground. She is the only one to see that Jesus is floating a few inches above the ground the entire time that they are hammering the nails on the back of the cross to secure them. It is a representation of God still in control of the whole crucifixion process.
    
    

13. [Jesus Meets his Mother on the Via Dolorosa]
    
    

    Every time that Jesus meets His mother Mary along His Passion He is strengthened and has new resolve. This is especially noticeable after Jesus is scourged the first time. The Romans have beat him over 70 times and He has collapsed. He sees Mary and finds the strength to stand up much to the dismay and surprise of the Roman soldiers who then decide to use a more vicious whip with metal tips. This scene represents the idea that Mary is living proof to Jesus that the sacrifice He is about to make for mankind is not in vain. The film shows that Jesus comes to a decision to continue on the path to Calvary each time they look at each other. Some say it reinforces the idea of Mary as co-redemptrix.
    
    

14. [Simon of Cyrene]
    
    

    Simon of Cyrene represents every man who is faced with the cross and does not want to carry it. He also represents those who do not want to help others carry their crosses. Yet, in this film he also represents the person who is forced to carry the cross and then becomes so engaged with Christ that he wants a deeper relationship with Him. The arms of Jesus and Simon the Cyrene are intertwined as they carry the cross together and that image represents the efforts of each soul carrying its cross with the help of the Savior. That final look that Simon gives Jesus after he has finished helping Him, represents the longing of every soul to have a deeper relationship with the Lord after coming face to face with Him. It was through carrying the cross that Simon came to have a desire to have an intimate relationship with Jesus much like that of the soul who longs to know Christ better in the midst of suffering.
    
    

15. [Judas]
    
    

    Notice in the Garden of Gethsemane scene when Judas denies Jesus that the Lord never takes His eyes off of him when he denies Him. The Lord never takes His eyes off of Judas even when Judas runs away. That is representative of the Lord's own relationship with us. Jesus never takes His eyes off of us when we deny Him or turn away from Him.
    
    

[Dialup Llama]

See the movie again and watch John and Mary Magdelene before and during the crucifixion. There's alot going on there, very subtle acting. At the cross, John and Mary both get a revelation about who Jesus is and his mission.

Mary Magdelene sees that when the Romans turned over the cross, Jesus held himself off the ground in order to keep the prophecy true which says the Messiah will not have any broken bones. Mary realizes that Jesus has direct control over the forces of nature. When Jesus is lifted up she covers her head, just as she would in the courtyard of the Temple before the Holy of Holies which is the presence of God. Mary realizes that Jesus is God just as he told Caiaphas.

On the way to the crucifixion, John looks sad, angry and disappointed in this apparently tragic and meaningless end. Then John flashes back to the Last Supper where Jesus said "This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, poured out for you." John looks at Jesus on the cross and his eyes fill with tears of joy and he understands what Jesus' mission was and the purpose of the cricifixion.

[Askel5]

To be honest ... I did comprehend Mary Magdalene's vision of Christ upturned until this thread.



=== John looks at Jesus on the cross and his eyes fill with tears of joy

This is the sticking point which escapes so many ... I pray their hearts be softened.

Thanks for the post, Dailup Llama. Rest assured I'll see the film again during Holy Week.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Thanks....I'm going to pass this article along in e-mail.

[syriacus]

My daughter told me yesterday that she has forwarded the article to her friends.

[Ignatius J Reilly]

Thanks for the most excellant ping. Wish I would have looked sooner as we had a great discussion last night and this would have added much to it. Next time..

God bless

[Diago]

Ignatius J Reilly,

What are your thoughts on the movie about you that will be coming out soon?

[Humal]

Thank you for posting this. It answers many questions I had about some of the symbolism in the movie.

[Humal]

"the squads of Israeli rabbis whose ministry it is to collect the body parts of those killed in terror bombings."

The symbolism of the two Marys cleaning up the blood puzzled me. I wondered if it had a Jewish meaning to it. Thank you for the clarification.

[livius]

Thanks for posting this. I've seen the movie three times so far, and still I find that there were some things that I missed. It's like looking at a medieval (or even later) religious painting - stuffed with so much symbolism that it takes a long time for the viewer to notice it all.

[tang-soo]

bttt

[tang-soo]

The opening scene shows Christ praying at the stone while satan is tempting him.

While Christ says Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. (different wording), Christ pauses for a brief moment between the two phrases.

During this time, the camera is fixed on satan's face. Satan shows no expression except an ever so slight raising of an eyebrow (ok the eyebrows were shaved). I took this to mean he had a glimmer of hope when Christ was asking if he could avoid the wrath. Praise God he didn't!

[littlepaddle]

has anyone read anything on the symbolisim with the 2 thiefs
I have heard that the cloth around the good thief could represent a scapular and the raven plucking out the eye how sin can blind us to the truth....I am looking for the symbolisim of the cup on the unpented thief

[Frapster]

I would speculate that visually the three ribs might be more identifiable than just one rib. So rather than gamble on one they chose three for its obvious Trinitarian connection as opposed to 2 or 4 or more. In the end it still symbolizes the new Adam and the birth of the Church which is consumated with the spilling of the blood (redemption) and water (adoption).

[Lady In Blue]

Bumping for a later read. Thanks! I loved this film.I've seen it twice already.

[Dajjal]

I don't think we get a good look at the table in the Upper Room where the Last Supper is held. But it is the home of a "rich man." The table Christ made in the film would be too small to seat twelve, but if we don't see much of the Upper Room's table in the film, perhaps Gibson reused the prop there.

When I saw the film again last weekend, I remembered to pay attention to this, and I now believe that the Last Supper is held on the table Our Lord is building in the early flashback.

We do not get to see the skirting of the Last Supper table in the film, so I cannot say for certain -- but Gibson's Last Supper table is not a long, DaVinci-esque table. It is very, very short. The Apostles are huddled around it very closely, some with only their heads showing over the shoulders of two others.

There is definitely no room on Gibson's Last Supper table for twelve people to eat meals, other than the bread from the basket, and the shared cup of wine.

[haole]

the RSV has the best translation of this: this is from the King James:
Jeremiah 17:13
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, [and] they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
It is from our tradition that Jesus wrote the sins of the stone holders, and, becasue He turned their trap against them ( they wanted Jesus to either lose face with the people -go against Mosaic law, or get into trouble with the Romans-condemn someone to death - which only the Romans could do under their occupation ), they saw that He wanted them to stone her ( get introuble with the Romans ) and realizing this ( eldest, more wise to the world , younger less wise to the world, and more willing to rebel ) they left. They had to lose face to the people, which they resented Him more for. They chose this, rather than lose their positions of power they had under the Roman rule. All of the Jews knew Jeremiah well, and reacted appropriately.