10/24/2007: "The Passion Of The Christ"

In 2004 the actor Mel Gibson created a movie called The Passion of the Christ. The movie opened with incredible box office results and acclaim, along with some who thought it was too much laden with gore, or completely fictional for those who were unbelievers. At that time I hadn't paid much notice to the movie, falling in love, moving across the country, switching jobs, and generally not focusing on the media of that time frame. After many years I still had never seen the film and was curious to know why it was so inspiring and controversial to so many.

I bought the film last October and I watched it once and thought it was just a really great biblical film. Sure, I had seen The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Story Ever Told, but I didn't know how good a film could be done in a biblical sense in this day and age. I was already a Christian for a decade and so to me there was no drastic change in my lifestyle caused by this film. However by December I noticed that I not only watched the film a few times by then, but I watched it seven times in that month alone. Each time I watched it I cried except for the last few, yet my eyes still watered and drained as if I was crying, while admittedly not holding back my tears. I didn't understand the reasoning for this and just considered it strange but not abnormal.

I actually appreciated characters like Pontius Pilate and thought he was incredibly sensitive to Jesus to the point of not wanting to crucify him when the mob complained. I enjoyed the language they used as it made it all feel so more real. I even started memorizing some of the lines in the movie spoken in that language.

I was amazed at how much of an effect the movie had on me, already being a Christian. To me the cinematography, script, and actors chosen all were so incredible that I was enthralled with the movie as well as the story. The hardest thing for some Christians perhaps was seeing past the pain and looking toward the Glory of God. To endure, to persevere, to love even when all the world is literally against you in the case of Christ himself.

So many things stood out to me in watching this film such as the moments between Jesus and his mother, as well as the sermon's Jesus gave during flashbacks within the movie. How could you not feel a level of intensity and connection with your faith aside from when the camera came close in on Jesus and he said, "I AM" while being questioned by Caiphis if he was the "Son of the Living God?" God saying those same words to Moses in the Old Testament when asked "who should I tell has sent me" for an explanation to the Egyptians.

Near the end when Jesus was carrying his cross and you saw shots from the crowd and Mary seen Satan, and it was as if she knew who he was. The intensity was shown even in the smallest of things that you had to pay attention to notice, such as when Jesus fell off the bridge while being beaten by the guards and was seen by Judas and Jesus' eyes glowed gold.

I think everyone should take a look at this movie, not just because I'm recommending it to you but to those who believe you need to truly see a depiction of what he went through. While not being the Holy Grail, it at least shows a perspective of the purpose of our faith. For those who don't believe it's always worth a moment to say "what if?", what if it was real and he was alive and this all did occur? Without converting anyone as you are free to believe what you so choose, it's an excellent movie that showcases the love of Jesus Christ through an extreme amount of pain and humiliation by the humans he came to save.

My favorite part of the movie is during Chapter 27 when he states "There is no greater love for a man, than to lie down his life for his friends," and then he says "You are my friends". . .