![]() ![]() "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." In the first century CE, one hundred years after Pompey established Roman rule in Judea and only forty years before the political situation of Judea boiled over into open revolt against Rome, a man like Jesus would cause great consternation to both the Jewish and Roman authorities John himself speaks of the concern of the former in John 11:48: In regards to the claims of anti-Semitism that have been famously spoken of for many months now (in fact, some of these comments prompted me to write an article in September of 2003, What Makes a Church a "Responsible Church?"), I will simply say that I believe that Gibson's portrayal of the Jews is accurate. The movie overall does well at staying with the message of the Scriptures, although it must be stated that Gibson has added many conversations, encounters, and events that are not specifically stated in the Gospel narratives. Blood is everywhere, and the flesh of the character playing Jesus is heavily marred and abused. The physical suffering of Jesus is well made in the movie the agony of the whippings and scourgings, the pain of walking from Jerusalem to Golgotha, the pain of being nailed to thecross and lifted up- the imagery is evocative and extremely grotesque. ![]() It is always best to begin such things by commenting on the strengths of the movie. Many claims have been made about it,ranging from charges of anti-Semitism to the proclamation by some Evangelicals that the movie is the "greatest witnessing tool of the 21st century." I have seen this movie and will make some comments on it for the benefit of those in the church and those in the world who may have questions about it. The Passion of the Christ, a movie recently released on the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ as portrayed by director Mel Gibson, has been the discussion of many in the world and also in the Lord's Body itself. ![]()
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