Review: Passion of The Christ
Everyone over 15 years old should go see, “The Passion of The Christ” directed and produced by Mel Gibson ? do not expect to enjoy it ? but do expect to be profoundly moved.
I was invited along with other pastors to see the movie one day before opening day so we could be prepared to answer questions and give feedback. The theater was full of church leaders. We were talking and laughing as we tend to do but as the movie started everything changed.
As the last twelve hours of Jesus life unfolded the theater became eerily quiet interrupted only the sound of muffled gasps and quiet sobbing. No detail of Christ’s horrible ordeal was left to the imagination. Not only was “The Passion” gruesome but the movie was emotionally wrenching. Just when you thought you had seen all you could stand of the violence and bloodshed there would be a cutaway to a scene from the last supper, or with the disciples or with his mother Mary.
At one point, Jesus fell while attempting to carry the cross through the streets of Jerusalem. His mother was near by and ran to him. There was a flashback to when Jesus was a child and injured himself and his mother ran to offer a consoling word. This time she reached him and just for a minute touched his bloody face and assured her precious son she would be with him to the end.
Another pastor, John Bright wrote: “I expect to never again be able to serve Communion without the images of this film in my mind. I think you will understand when you see where Mel Gibson placed flashbacks to the last supper and I believe many of you will never come to receive the elements of the Lord’s Supper without tears after viewing this film.”
There was another scene where Mary was handed several towels by the wife Pontius Pilate. Shortly after the brutal beating the women stood over the now empty chamber covered with Jesus’ blood all over the stone floor. Quietly, Mary took the towels and began wiping her son’s blood. Soon, other women and one of the disciples joined her as together they cried and cleaned.
Donnie Smith, our youth director wrote: “‘The Passion’ is relentless. You see Christ horribly beaten and constantly taunted. Today, even the worst mass murderer is treated better. Young people will come away asking as I did, ‘What did Jesus do that was so bad? What did he do to deserve this?’ The best answer I can think of is not that Christ did anything to deserve this treatment but rather it was something he endured as part of his sacrifice for all of us. He endured the consequences of our sin and prevailed over the worst aspects of our human nature.”
As the horror unfolded I kept thinking, “How could one man possibly endure this kind of torture?” Yet even in the midst of the violence, you also saw the love and compassion written all over Jesus now bloody and disfigured face. You could feel the love in his eyes even as he was being beaten or fighting for breath on the cross. As he cried out to God, you felt the pain but you also knew that in His death there would be victory. When Jesus breathed his last words, “It is finished” it was not the pain you felt as much as the satisfaction of knowing his mission was accomplished.
After “The Passion” was over, ministers who usually hung around to chat left the theater silently with heads bowed. Many of us had red faces streaked with tears. The whole experience was simply too overwhelming for words. I only wanted to get away, to think, to cry some more and pray for God’s forgiveness for not fully appreciating the incredible sacrifice made for me.
Now that time has passed, I know it was important to see this film but this is not a movie you will want to see two or three times. There is no enjoyment. Once is enough. If you have children under fifteen years old they should not see this movie unless parents see an unusual maturity. “The Passion” is too real for children to understand and emotionally process.
Go with your church or as a group. Just do not go alone. This is an opportune time to invite friends, neighbors and coworkers to a must-see event that could change your life and theirs. Don’t let this opportunity slip away. See “The Passion of The Christ” and bring a crowd.