by Well, I saw the passion this past Friday. Here are some random thoughts:
Is the Devil really a woman?
That was the first time I thought of Jesus being roughed up on the way to trial.
What was up with the kids that turned into evil beings chasing Judas?
and the evil looking child the Devil held while Jesus was being whipped.
Do you really think Jesus was corny enough to build a table for nowadays back then?
Where were Jesus other sibilings in the scene with Mary? Maybe they were out at the market.
Could you come away with a message other than– man, he was really beaten up?
Did Simon of Cyrene carry the cross the entire way behind Jesus (as the
Scripture says) or part of the way with Jesus (as in the movie).
Where was the Roman soldier who said “Truly, this man was the Son of God.”
Did the earthquake break the temple floor as well as rip the curtain?
So, what message did you get out of it?
Dh and I went to see this movie, mostly in support of a Christian film. It was hard to watch and I hated all the devil scenes, and the one with Judas and the children–I had to hide my face! It was horrible.
What I took away was actually nothing to do with the actual movie. It was the experience of standing in a LONG line in a relatively small town with sooo many Christians out in support! The line went through the mall a ways, out the door even further…and all the people in line were just chatting together (strangers!) as though being there for a common faith-purpose really made us more than strangers. It was amazing.
It’s been a couple years now since I saw the movie, so I will try to remember my impressions.
The biggest one is that I did not like it. I sat there with my Bible, trying to see how far off it was from actual scripture. Pretty far off in several areas. I guess the biggest problem for me was not showing Jesus Christ’s resurrection and ascension. The Catholic church, (in my opinion) keeps Jesus on the cross by depicting him still there. We serve a risen Savior, seated at the right hand of the Father. What a glorious ending to the movie if they had shown that!!
Assuming we are speaking of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”, the resurrection is briefly depicted at the very end. I don’t think it is fair to say that Catholics want to keep Christ on the cross, although it is a big difference between Roman Catholic Christianity and Orthodox Christianity that the Roman Catholic form stresses the passion and death of Christ much more than the ressurection. I agree that this is what Gibson’s film does. I think he does so fairly faithfully, and have no great objections to his representation – but I would like a sequel about the events of the resurrection (perhaps leading up to Pentecost).
Amen to your last statement, Stephen! I do remember now the brief ‘resurrection’ at the end.
I may have sounded rather negative in my earlier comment, concentrating on the things wrong with Gibson’s film. Although I did not like the movie…I thought it was ‘brave’ of Gibson to take on the challenge. The fact that someone in Hollyood was willing to do this was rather rare…and he stayed ‘fairly’ close to the truth. I would hope that an unsaved person watching it would maybe rethink their beliefs, which is why I would have liked more about His resurrection and ascension.
Deborah, your last comment is exactly how I felt after watching it. I may not ever want to see it again, but I thought it was commendable of Gibson and hopefully it will reach who it needs to reach.
I remember being very thankful the experience didn’t kick-start my labor (I was expecting baby #3)…so many people went to see the movie and had heart attacks, etc, for their trouble! Remember all the hoopla?