Behold the Man: The Passion of the Christ

Behold the Man: The Passion of the Christ

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53: 3-5

Beyond all the pyrotechnics and fulmination of the blow-dried moralizers of the mass media in recent days over The Passion of the Christ, let’s take a look at the movie itself, unlike some of the “critics” who have lambasted it without benefit of actually having seen it.

Much like Martin Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ we have religious and antireligious zealots condemning the new view of the final hours of Jesus Christ’s life on Earth.

Now, I believe in seeing something for myself before I make my mind up whether or not it is offensive. Why should some self-appointed “opinion leader” or “moral guardian” tell me what I should think, and, by the way, cheekily advise “don’t bother to see this or you put your mortal soul at risk of hellfire and damnation.” ? ? Ahem. As Jesus Christ himself said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” and “Blessed is he who finds no stumbling block in me.” So, if anything, I urge everybody to at least give this film a fair shake and then make up their mind as to its merits, rather than allowing some self-styled egghead to dissuade them before they have a chance to see it.

I sat through The Passion of the Christ today at Stonecrest 16 theater in Lithonia, Georgia, and was RIVETED. The film is a powerful, thought-provoking look at the final hours of Christ’s passion and is fully in accordance with the four Gospels of the Holy Bible. Director Mel Gibson gives it to you straight, and if you don’t believe me, read the accounts for yourself in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I, as a lover of history and Jesus Christ have read them many times and Mel Gibson visually depicted the demonic torments Christ was subjected to with an unflinching eye. You will wince as you see the scourging with rods; the scourging with the cat o’ nine tails; the buffeting with fists and feet; the humiliation by spitting in the countenance of the greatest man who ever lived. If you have any compassion within you, you will be moved perhaps more than you have in a very long time.

The film opens with Jesus, alone at night in the Garden of Gethsemane going through the mental tortures of the damned consistent with what he knows is going to happen to him momentarily. Well, not exactly alone, for Satan is there with him also, doing his best to create doubt in the heart of the Son of Man. As Christ collapses from sheer emotional exhaustion a snake crawls forth from under Satan’s robe and approaches the recumbent figure. Summoning his strength, Christ slowly pulls himself to his feet and breaks the pregnant silence with a startlingly loud stamp of his foot - this makes you jump - he crushes the snake and the scene transitions to Christ awakening his sleeping disciples. He rebukes them in Aramaic, “Can’t you watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray.” The whole film is like that; mind numbing suspense punctuated with startling transitions that mimic the flight of a persons own thoughts and attention. Remarkable. The entire dialog is spoken in Aramaic and Latin underscored by subtitles, but if you know your Gospels, you will have already figured out what they were saying.

The film is shot using mainly unknowns, who are very good in their parts, with the exception of Jim Caviezel (Thin Red Line), who does a completely believable Jesus Christ. Caviezel lives within the character and soon becomes covered with gore to the extent that he is almost unrecognizable as a human being. The film works as a totally visual experience and the well-chosen words of the script are almost incapable of adding to the unspoken pageantry and majesty of the remarkable cinematography.

While Mel Gibson’s version of the Christ story will inevitably be compared to the justly popular big screen versions that have preceded it, including The Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings, Jesus of Nazareth and Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ has found its own niche and its own unique filmic language to portray the story as accurately as any film of its kind. This film is certainly an Oscar candidate; perhaps in several categories.

The film is presented in 2.35: 1 widescreen theatrical format, runs 2 hours 7 minutes and opens today at a theater near you. I urge you, if you see ONE FILM this year, let that film be The Passion of the Christ you will never look at Jesus Christ in the same way ever again.

As St. Paul opined, “Jesus Christ: an offense to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.” See for yourself if the old fellow was right.

Thank you and have a great viewing experience!

More highly recommended viewing about Jesus Christ:

The Greatest Story Ever Told

King of Kings

Jesus of Nazareth

Last Temptation of Christ