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Pastor's Review of the Passion
2/25/04 | Rev. Steven S. Bryant

A Review of the Passion: 2/23/04

It’s late but I feel a strong need to write to my friends and family. Earlier this evening, a group of approximately 250 Presbyterians and some of their close friends gathered in a theater for a special screening of The Passion of the Christ.

I’m writing because my prayer is that very soon you will in some way feel what I am feeling right now. Standing on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee made me feel this way. Walking the same cobbled streets of Jerusalem made me feel this way. Crouching down to enter the empty tomb made me feel this way. I’m struggling to find the words and these won’t do it justice, but the feeling inside is the mixture of joy and sadness over the reality of the Sacrifice. It really happened! It’s not a myth or a fairytale. Neither is it a flannel-graph or a Sunday School coloring assignment. The sacrifice of the Incarnate One was as real as the flesh that was bruised and bloodied and torn open. I want you to see this film because I believe that God can use it to bring you even closer unto Himself.

When was the last time you felt so much love for Jesus that you wept for two hours? Whether you cry tears that run down your cheeks or cry deep down inside while appearing stoic, if you love Jesus at all, you will cry somehow. Every person I know could benefit from a little more emotional connection with Jesus. Please don’t avoid this film because you’re afraid of your own reaction. Don’t deprive yourself a moment of spiritual growth because of fear.

I’m writing as well, because right now there are people in this world who really don’t want you to see this film. They’re raising flimsy objections. “It’s too graphic,” they whine. Well, I can honestly say this was the most graphic film I’ve ever seen. But I would bet you my bottom dollar that had we been there at Golgotha 2000 years ago, we’d say it was infinitely more gruesome. It is visceral and gut-wrenching and anything less would not be true to the Gospel.

Should your kids see it? You need to see it first, then make that decision. If you are in touch with the growing faith of your children, you will know. My 12 year old son is mature enough to see this movie. I’m not sure what his reaction will be, but I want him to see it because it will help a young boy know with greater depth what it means to call Jesus, “my Savior.” My 10 year old daughter will see it too, but when the time is right. Not now.

Others are objecting that the film is anti-Semitic. That’s an accusation that they have the right to raise, but I find no truth in it whatsoever. If the same objectors are intellectually honest, they’d have to raise identical objections about the whole of the New Testament. Just because someone raises an objection doesn’t make them right. Just because Diane Sawyer refers to someone as a “Bible scholar” doesn’t make them one. Too many people today want to reduce Jesus to a mild mannered non-gendered person who came to teach us how to be nice; a more user-friendly kind of Jesus who is a way, a truth, and a life, among many others of our individual choosing.

Hear this: Jesus did not die a politically correct death! The Almighty didn’t need to consult with sensors before He charted the Master Plan of Redemption. He didn’t seek the theological approval of a multi-cultural inter-faith focus group. And He has never once changed the details in order to satisfy His critics.

This film isn’t about what the Jews did to Jesus. Nor is it about what the Roman soldiers did. It’s about what Jesus did for the whole world. “He became obedient to the point of death, even death upon a cross.” Of course, we can’t expect all non-believers to understand that. Some people won’t get the point. Some don’t want to get the point. But many will, and I am convinced that God will work through this faithful adaptation of the Gospel to bring millions of new people into the fold.

Here’s something else I’m convinced of: I know the Biblical account better than the critics of this movie. In my opinion, Mel Gibson has made a film that is true to the Gospel. It is not the Word of God. It is not a substitute or an alternative to sacred Scripture. Not every detail and every line of dialogue will be found in the Gospel, but you can find nothing in this film that contradicts anything Biblical. Mel Gibson’s inspired artistry gets to the heart of the Gospel: It isn’t about what the Jews did to Jesus. The Gospel is about what Jesus has done for the whole world. He paid the awful gory price. Our sin whipped every inch of His sinless body. Our hatefulness and wickedness drove the spikes through His hands and feet. Our self-centeredness raised the cross, and our darkness snuffed out the Light of the World....for a little while, but not long.

Tonight, I could hear lots of weeping. Why did they weep? Because a theater full of Presbyterians knew they were seeing their truest love on the big screen. And do you know what I kept hearing in my mind, through the interminable lashing? Above the crack of the whip, the mocking masses, the laughter of drunken executioners and the soundtrack orchestra, I could hear the voice of children singing “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; they are weak but He is strong.”

On the way home, my sweet Iranian friend Shala, whom I had the privilege of baptizing several years ago, said in her beautiful middle-eastern accent, “I love Him all the more, I love Him all the more.”

By all means, please go see this film and you too will love Him more.

Rev. Steven S. Bryant steve@fpcvicksburg.org