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The Passion of the Christ
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Mon, 2005-09-05 21:38
Review of the Movie and Bible Study are below
A personal Bible Study can be arranged for those in our area, or Biblical questions answered by calling the Church office at 845-298-8481 or e-mail to Church Office
The Passion of the Christ - Movie by Mel Gibson
Reviewed By Pastor Scott Harris
I will give you an overall evaluation, some specific Biblical errors in the movie, and then some suggestions on how to take advantage of it forth cause of Jesus Christ.
Overall
I had mixed emotions about the movie. It was better than I expected it to be especially in using "flashback" scenes to bring out who Jesus was and what He taught. For anyone paying attention, they would understand that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the son of God, who came to give His life for man’s sin and that Jesus is the only way to the Father. However, the film does not tell a person how to gain eternal life through what Jesus did. I was also pleased that while the film definitely showed the cruelty of Jesus’ suffering, the film did not emphasize the gore. While there was more blood shown than what could be true (you wonder if he would have had any body fluids left), the flogging scene, though violent, was not as bad as it may actually have been. On the negative, some of the added material and quite a few errors from the Biblical accounts gave the story a fictional element which detracted from the effort to depict the truth. Some of the added material was helpful in filling in the gaps inherent in a very narrowly focused story. I believe that the movie will cause people to give serious consideration to Jesus Christ and His claims. It will emotionally move people. Christians need to be prepared to answer people’s questions and point them to saving faith in Jesus.
Critique
The movie opens with a quote from Isaiah 53 and then reveals Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. It does not show Jesus praying three times, but it does condense the essence of Jesus’ prayers, especially in Jesus’ desire for the Father to provide another way, but yielding to the Father’s will and not his own. A Satan figure is added to tempt Jesus, while not a Biblical account, it is used to bring out the direct spiritual battle Satan is waging against God. Use of a snake coming out from Satan’s robe and Jesus crushing its head are artistic references to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15.
The arrest in Gethsemane fails in several facts. First, there was a"great multitude" (Mt. 26:47) or a cohort (John 18:3) that came to arrest Jesus, and the film only has a squad of temple guards. Second, this group fell to the ground when Jesus answered "I am" to their statement that they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene (John 18:6). This does not happen in the film. Third, the show Judas as hesitant to identify Jesus. Matt. 26:49 says that Judas did this "immediately." The film does show Peter hacking off the ear of Malchus and Jesus healing it while rebuking Peter, but only part of the Biblical dialog is given. Fourth, the film depicts Jesus being beaten severely by these temple guards on the way back to Caiaphas. However, these would be the same guards that refused to arrest Jesus earlier, and they would have been disciplined to only arrest and transport, not beat up an prisoner that was not yet charged or convicted.
The trial before Caiaphas is shown in the movie as a condensed version of the all that happened. It does not depict Jesus being brought before Annas first (John 18:12). It does a good job at showing the kinds of things that occurred during Jesus’ trial. Most of the dialog is strait from the Scriptures. It does bring out the illegal nature of the trial by adding Elders and members of the Sanhedrin that questioned the trial. Such men, if they were known, would probably not have been invited to this meeting. A couple of the major factual errors in this scene is that the trial before Caiaphas took place at the high priest’s house. There were not large crowds of additional people coming in and out. Peter was able to get in because another disciple was able to persuade the doorkeeper to let him in (John 18:15,16). Mary and Mary Magdalene were not present as depicted in the film. Peter’s denials are condensed in themovie to have happened in rapid succession instead of occurring over the length of the trial. The movie also falsely portrays Peter as confessing his sin of denial to Mary before running away. Overall, the portrayal of the trials before Pilate and Herod are done very well. The trials before Pilate occurs at the Praetorium, but not in it, for the Jews would not enter so as not to be defiled at Passover (John 18:25). Especially good was the portrayal of Pilate as beingconflicted. He wanted to release Jesus, but he was afraid of Caesar if an uprising occurred.
It is doubtful that the scourging occurred in public as presented in thefilm. As noted above, the Jews would not enter into the Praetorium because it is Passover, and the most likely place for such a scourging would have been within the Roman compound. The film depicts the harsh realities of the scourging without glorification of the gore. While Jesus’ battered body is clearly depicted, the camera does not focus onthe wounds, but rather on those scourging him and the emotional impact it was having on those watching. In reality, the scene does not show the scourging to be as bad as it could have actually been. The scriptures give little detail about what occurred as Jesus made Hisway to Golgotha, other than that Simon of Cyrene was pressed into service to bear the cross. Matthew & Luke indicate this occurred as he was being led out of the Praetorium. Roman custom was that the condemned carried the cross member of the cross to the place of crucifixion. Jesus was not in a physical condition to carry it. The various stations of the cross are Catholic traditions. The scriptural emphasis is not on either the scourging or the suffering on the way to Golgatha, but on the crucifixion.
The crucifixion scene is done very well for the most part. Jesus’ last seven sayings are presented very powerfully. The cruelty of the cross is shown, but not magnified. The earthquake following Jesus’ yielding His spirit and the rending of the veil in the Temple were very good. There were a few minor inconsistencies, but of notable mention are that 1) the soldiers were actually careful not to tear Jesus’ tunic (John 19:24). 2)The movie depicts the soldiers breaking the legs of the thieves because of fear of the earthquake, but they did so because the Jews requested it of Pilate as part of preparations for the Sabbath (see John 19:31-33). 3) The movie left out the Centurion’s pronouncement, "Truly, this man was the Son of God!" (Mark. 15:39) or praising God saying, "Certainly this man was innocent" (Luke 23:47). The resurrection is shown, but very briefly.
Taking Advantage of the Film & Cautions
1) This film is not entertainment. It is a powerful portrayal of Jesus’suffering and death for sin.
2) Any Christian desiring to see it, should read through the crucifixion accounts in the gospels prior to going (Matthew 26-28; Mark 14-16; Luke 22-24; John 18-20. Also John 13-17 would be good to read too since those chapters all occur that same night before going to Gethsemane. If you can read through all this using a Gospel Harmony, it will be even better).
3) See it at an early showing so that you can talk about it afterward with those who see it with you.
4) It is best to invite non-Christians to go with you. Be praying foryour non-Christian friends before you go.
5) Be prepared to talk about Jesus’ passion (suffering & death) whether you see the movie or not. Many in our community will be seeing it and there will be many opportunities to talk with them about Jesus, who He is, what He did and His offer of eternal life. See if you can get others to join you for a Bible study on Jesus - whether it is with just you, a couple of others, a small group or at church (see 6 below).
6) Bible Study material is available - see below and links at bottom of this page
Bible Study for The Passion of the Christ movie by Mel Gibson
Overall this is a very good movie depicting the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life - from His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane through His crucifixion with a brief cameo of His resurrection. The movie adds some material to the Biblical narrative. Some of this is in an effort to bring out more of the story of Jesus. Some of this is from various fictional traditions. The movie also leaves out part of the Biblical narrative (to some degree this is to reduce the time length of the movie).
The following are important questions to be considered in evaluating Jesus Christ. The questions are followed by Biblical references that will provide the answers. Study the books of Matthew, John and Romans to better understand Jesus’ claims about Himself and the way to salvation in Him.
1) Who is Jesus?
His Origin : John 1:1-3
Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20
Jesus’ Claims: John 8:54-59
The claims of others
His Friends: John 1:1,14
His Enemies: John 5:18
The claims of the Apostles: Philippians 2:5-11
Your conclusion on who Jesus is.
2) Why did Jesus come?
Man’s Condition: Romans 5:12; Genesis 3:17-19
Romans 3:23; 6:23
Jesus’ Purpose: Matthew 1:21
3) What was Jesus like?
4) Why did Jesus suffer?
John 7:7; 15:18-25
5) Why did Jesus die?
John 3:14; 12:33; 18:32; Galatians 3:13
6) Who killed Jesus?
John 18:31; 19:15,16,18
7) What happened to Jesus after His Crucifixion
Matthew 27:60; Mark 15:46; Luke 24:53; John 19:40-42
8) What is Jesus doing now?
9) What will Jesus do in the future?
10) How does God want us to respond to Jesus?
Matthew 4:17; Acts 3:19; 17:30
11) What is God’s response to those who follow Jesus
12) Is there any other way to God
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