The Passion: The Man, The Message, The Mission

Not in my lifetime has there been a media event that has captured the religious mindset of America more than the Mel Gibson film, “The Passion of the Christ.” Without any Hollywood backing and with great risk to his acting career, Mr. Gibson has produced and distributed, with his own money, this incredible portrayal of the last hours of Jesus Christ. In a graphic and accurate way, Mr. Gibson has sought to serve up for his audience a shock and awe look at the brutal and heart-wrenching crucifixion of Jesus.

Crucifixion originated in the Persian Empire but was used by barbarians in other cultures as well. It was usual for the convicted criminal to first be flogged. With artisti

c detail the whipping would be carried out in such a way so as to maximize the pain in the allotted timeframe in which the crucifixion would occur. This meant that if a victim were to hang on the cross for several days (as was commonplace) he would be whipped so as to insure his death would not occur before the scheduled time. If, as in Jesus’ case, the victim were to hang on the cross for a short period of time, the scourging would be carried out with such bloodcurdling brutality so as to insure the victim’s death within hours. If the death did not occur as planned, the legs would be broken to hasten asphyxia.

The victim died slowly in an eclectic agony of searing pain, suffocation, and eventual heart failure. King Darius crucified 3000 Babylonians and Alexander the Great, 2000 from Tyre. Alexander Janius crucified 800 Pharisees while the men hung helplessly and watched as their wives and children were slaughtered at their feet. Rome used this hideous form of capital punishment extensively when they came into power in Israel in 63 BC. When Titus invaded and destroyed the Jews in Jerusalem in AD 70, so many were crucified they ran out of room for the crosses. It wasn’t until AD 337 that the Roman Emperor Constantine ended this demonic cruelty.

From a purely artistic point of view, there has never been a movie made on the life of Jesus that has captured the horror of His crucifixion as this one. I have often wondered how in the world we have embraced a picture of Jesus as a weak, blond-haired, blue-eyed, and even somewhat effeminate itinerant preacher who just wanted everyone to get along.

There are certain words that conjure up tremendous emotion and serve as catalyst for hate and bigotry. Who ought not cringe when they hear the “N” word, or "Holocaust" or “the Crusades?” This movie has wrongly been criticized for inflaming old hatreds by implying the Jews killed Jesus. After all, isn’t that what Hitler, a self-professed Christian, used as justification for his “Mein Kampf” and the eventual genocide of 6 million people? And who can forget the unfortunate use of the word “crusade” used by President Bush in the aftermath of 9-11?

Words can be cruel and divisive. So I must choose mine carefully as I respond to the tremendous mischaracterizations of this historic film. Is the question of who killed Jesus paramount to the message of the film or do you believe, as I do, that there is a much broader issue at stake?

Simply stated from an historical point of view, the Jewish religious establishment of Jesus’ day and the Roman governor of Judea killed Jesus. The charge against Him that gained an ear from a wary Pilate was sedition. Caesar charged Pilate with the responsibility of keeping the peace in Jerusalem, especially during the Passover when thousands of Jewish pilgrims made life for Pilate tense and edgy at best. It was politically in Pilate’s best interest for Caesar to hear nothing of revolt, messiahs, or zealots in Judea. Thus Pilate looked for ways to climb into bed with the Jews via Herod while maintaining the fear of Rome in the streets. So he ordered Jesus’ execution, though he was reluctant to do so. Only Rome held the authority to crucify. It is highly likely Pilate knew of Jesus’ popularity and the masses that followed Him. After all, self-professed messiahs were a dime a dozen. Religious freedom was a pillar of Roman law. There were literally thousands of deities allowed in Roman society, including the God of the Jews, as long as civil peace and order were maintained. When religious zeal threatened that peace, the sword of Roman might descended with relentless precision and swiftness. Such was the case with Jesus. It would be revisionist history to say otherwise.

My heart, in anticipation, breaks as I see some of the proverbial handwriting on the wall. As this cultural phenomenon is unfolding, I fear the public and the media will miss the message of the Gospel. The movie is called “The Passion of the Christ.” What does that word “Christ” mean? Jews, Muslims, agnostics, religionists, and certainly Christians use that word freely. But do we know what it means to refer to Jesus as the Christ? Christ means Savior. From a doctrinal point of view, if Jesus is the Christ, He is the Savior. But what is it we are saved from? Is the death of Jesus merely a tragic ending to a misunderstood preacher who spoke of and practiced other-oriented love? Who is this Jesus? To the Jew, He is the founder of a world religion but not the anticipated Messiah their Old Testament Scriptures declare will one day come to restore Israel to the greatness once enjoyed in Solomon’s day. To the Muslim, He is a great teacher and prophet who, although a failure, served as precursor to the one true great prophet Mohammed. To the religionist, He is an example of humility, love, and tolerance.

But is that what He said about Himself – categorically no. The Scriptures teach that Jesus, when confronted by the religionists of His day concerning His identity, said that before Abraham (who lived thousands of years before Jesus) ever existed, Jesus lived. In fact, if the claims Jesus made about Himself are studied and understood, one is left with the Gospel – that being, if one believes Jesus is God and that He died on the cross to redeem men from their sins they can know for certain they have eternal life. But that is but a part of the good news, or Gospel. What we are saved from is the wrath of God. Through Jesus we are spared hell. How can this be? Jesus went to that cross in my place and suffered the equivalent of an eternity in hell on my behalf. There He took my punishment in love so that I would not have to. To miss that message by tagging Jesus with an identity that is anything short of God incarnate is to miss the message of the cross and this film.

In our society of tolerance and religious pluralism anyone who would dare believe that faith in this Jesus is the only way to salvation and that eternal life is obtained only by repenting of one’s sins and trusting in Christ and Christ alone for their salvation is labeled as a religious radical. But let’s not forget this fact. Jesus was crucified for blasphemy. That is, He made Himself to be God. The Jews got the charges right. No, He was not a seditionist who threatened the peace of Rome, though within two plus centuries Rome bowed at His feet. But He was, and is, God in the flesh and He has never rescinded His life message when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man will see God but by Me.”

For a limited time, MARK INC Ministries is offering a free CD titled The Passion: The Man, The Message, the Mission, a panel response to Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ. In this hour-long discussion with Dr. Charles F. Betters, you will understand better the claims of Christ and how to share the message of the Scriptures with those who saw the film and have questions. Order yours by visiting www.MARKINC.org or calling 1-877-markinc.org.