The Truth About The Passion of The Christ

Introduction

If I know my own heart, I am here for one purpose this evening, and that is in the teaching that we’ll do to exalt the name of the Lord Jesus to hold high his cause and to honor him, to magnify his name and to appreciate what he has done for us. With that thought in mind, I want to go back and reflect upon the song that we’ve just sung. It was Isaac Watts who pinned these words, When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did ere such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose, so rich a crown.

We also sing a song tonight, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord. No, we were not there. We were not there. We did not have the opportunity to be there on that awful day. We’ve not seen, as this song says, see from his head, his hands, his feet. We’ve not seen that in the literal sense, in that we were not there when our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. What we have only seen through the eye of faith by the reading of the scriptures, Mel Gibson has attempted to portray in a very literal way on the silver screen. The passion of the Christ opened in theaters across America five days ago. The movie is a very vivid depiction of the last hours, the last twelve hours of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The film opens in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus has gone, gone to pray following the Last Supper. It is there, of course, that he is betrayed by Judas. Jesus is arrested. He is taken back inside the city walls of Jerusalem, where the Jewish leaders, Annas, Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, confront him with accusations of blasphemy. His trial before the Jews results in a condemnation to death. And yet the Jews cannot carry out the death penalty, so they must take him before Pontius Pilate, and he is tried before Pilate. But Pilate, trying to avoid dealing with Jesus, sends him to Herod. And then Herod returns him to Pilate, where Pilate must deal with the issue. Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers who beat him without mercy.

1. Vivid Realism, Explicit Force

All the while Pilate wants to release Jesus, for he knows this man has committed no crime. But the crowd demands his crucifixion. And so Jesus is taken to Golgotha, where he dies on a cross. Now you may have heard that story a thousand times or more, but you have never seen it depicted with the explicit force and vivid realism of Mel Gibson’s movie. And ladies and gentlemen, that is the truth about the Passion of Christ. Vivid realism, explicit force. And I hope that in our if if we if we should see that movie, if you should see that movie, I hope that you recognize that what is depicted on that screen is what really happened to our Lord Jesus Christ. While I recognize fully that there is some dramatization in the movie and some dramatic license, the scourging, the walk to the place of the crucifixion, the crucifixion itself.

These are the events that took place in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have seen violent movies before. We’ve seen the trilogy Lord of the Rings, and those battles that took place whether at Rohan or Gondor or at Helm’s Deep or Mordor. Those battles, as brutal and bloody as they were, that’s fantasy. That’s fiction. What you see in the movie, The Passion of the Christ is true to life and realistic. It’s what happened to the Son of God two thousand years ago. Jim Cabezal plays the Christ in that movie. And on this slide behind me, you’ll see a photo of Jim Cabeasil, and this is the only picture that I will show from the movie this evening. There are so many violent pictures that I do have that I could show, but will not, because I’m not so certain that little children ought to see this kind of brutality.

That’s how bad it was. Now, religious leaders and critics are debating whether or not the film’s dramatization of the crucifixion is excessively violent. It’s excessively violent. It was on ABC’s Primetime with Diane Sawyer that Mel Gibson appeared just a few weeks ago. And when questioned about that, Gibson said this. He said, Critics who have a problem with this film don’t really have a problem with me, but they have a problem with the four gospels. And ladies and gentlemen, again, that is the truth about the passion of the Christ. Gibson admitted that his version is very violent. He said, If you don’t like it, don’t go. If you want to leave halfway through the movie, then you leave halfway through the movie. Go ahead. But he said, I wanted it to be extreme.

2. Who Killed Jesus? We All Did

I wanted to show the truth. I wanted it to push the mural over the edge so they could see the enormity, the enormity of the sacrifice that Jesus made. To see that someone could go through all that and still come back with love and with forgiveness, even through extreme pain, through suffering, and through ridicule. Diane Sawyer in that same interview asked Gibson whether the depiction of the Jewish role in Jesus’ death could incite anti-Jewish sentiments. Gibson described anti-Semitism as unchristian. And certainly we all believe that it is unchristian. But when asked who killed Jesus, Mel Gibson gave this remarkable and insightful reply. He said the big answer is we all did. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the truth about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. A Renewed Appreciation for the Cross

If there is any good to be seen in Gibson’s movie, it may be found in a renewed appreciation for the cross and what it truly means to us. Gibson says, and I certainly agree with him, that the cross has been pratified and sanitized. It’s the brutality of the cross has been taken away, and we’ve made it to look like something pretty. And that again is certainly true. Americans are altogether unfamiliar with scourging, which our Lord Jesus Christ endured. Americans are altogether unfamiliar with crucifixion. Well, someone says, Oh, I’ve seen movies on television before that depicted the crucifixion. You’ve not seen one like this. And I hope that a fresh look at the cross will enhance our appreciation for what our Lord Jesus did. Notice this passage in the book of Acts, chapter 3, verse 18.

The apostle Peter said, those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled. And I want you to focus on that. That the prophet said the Christ would suffer. Jesus’ death is a death of tremendous suffering. And don’t downplay that in the least. What does the cross mean in America today? Well, it’s become a sign that baseball players make, you know, before they go to the batter’s box. The cross is a symbol on a church steeple. It’s a charm that some people wear around their necks or on their or on their bracelet. And most of the times when you see a cross in a movie, it’s something there to drive away demons, vampires, and evil spirits, but not in this movie that we’re talking about tonight.

The cross is depicted as the cross really was. How many people in America see the cross as a torturous instrument of execution? How many people see at the cross the place where God’s love and man’s sin intersect? Because that’s what it’s about. Gibson was right when he said, when asked who killed Jesus, he said we all did. It’s because of our sins that a Savior went to the cross. How many people in America see the cross as the payment for their sins? You see, when Hollywood does a movie based on the life of Christ, it typically downplays the suffering and the excruciating agony of the cross. It’s sanitized, it’s made acceptable to a public that does not want to face the reality of the cross. The truth is, and the reality is that the suffering of Jesus was bloody, it was brutal, it was vicious, and it was vicarious.

By vicarious, I mean he was taking the place of someone else. Christ died for our sins, for yours and for mine. Sinful men turn their heads away from such a sight. Gibson’s movie shows the brutality of the cross and downplays nothing. Now, some of the scenes, because of some of the scenes of graphic violence in the movie, the movie carries an R rating. And some Christians may not want to see this movie because of its reading. This is a matter of personal judgment. I would say to you that the movie does not carry an R rating because of sex or because of profanity. There is nothing morally objectionable in the movie The Passion. If it is morally objectionable, then so is the text of the New Testament, because what you see in that movie is what happened to our Lord Jesus in the New Testament.

You see, for too long our culture has tried to make the cross a G rated event. That is acceptable to all people. When we look at it, it’s not so bad, suitable for all audiences. I was reading after one reviewer late last week. And he said, I thought I was prepared for this movie. He said, I have seen the most brutal sights in war movies. I thought I was a calloused man, and that nothing could ever affect me. But I was not at all prepared for what I saw. When the movie was over, some of the audience sat in stunned silence. Some cried. And ladies and gentlemen, when I saw the movie last Thursday afternoon, didn’t have to wait until the movie was over for people to cry.

4. All of This Was in the Plan of God

Because it was brutal. And as brutal as the cross is, all of this was yet in the plan of God. Notice again, those things which God foretold by the mouth of all of his prophets. God not only knew it would happen, foretold it, but it was in the plan of God in the book of Acts in chapter 2. It was by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God that Jesus went to the cross. And so God knew it would happen. It was in his plan, and he foretold it by the mouth of all of his prophets that the Christ would suffer. Heaven was not taken by surprise when Jesus was brutally scourged by the Roman soldiers. Our Father in heaven knew what was going to happen to Jesus when he came into the world.

5. Passages in Prophecy Speak of the Brutality of the Cross

Jesus himself knew. That’s why he prayed in the garden. Oh, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And so as brutal as the cross is, it was in the plan of God for his son. And I want you to notice some passages in prophecy that speak of the brutality of the cross. I’m going to begin in Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53 and in verse 10. You see that the word of the prophets. That’s what Peter was talking about in Acts chapter 3. So let’s go to some passages from the prophets. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 10. It says, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin.

He shall see his seed and shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. But it’s the first part of that verse I want you to see that it pleased the Lord to bruise him. That’s what the text says. That word bruise in the Hebrew, according to Strong’s lexicon, means to beat in pieces, to break in pieces, to crush, to destroy, to oppress, to smite. We’re talking about a brutal event as far back as Isaiah 53 in verse 10. Turn with me to the book of Zechariah. I’m looking at Zachariah chapter 13 and verse 7. And by the way, if you don’t get all the scriptures, you can pick up a copy of the outline tonight. Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 7.

It says, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd. You see the language there? That again is talking about the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus. It says in that text, in prophecy, hundreds of years beforehand, strike the shepherd. Again, Strong’s lexicon says, this word strike means to beat. It means to cast forth, it means to clap as to smack one in the face with the hand. That’s another thing that happened to Jesus. It means to punish, it means to slaughter. The word means to wound. Make no mistake about it. That’s what it means when it says, strike the shepherd. I’m going this time back to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 12.

Here the text says, Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul unto death.

Notice the text says, He poured out his soul unto death. The idea of pouring out one’s soul is the idea of giving all that one has. What did Jesus hold back? What was in reserve? What did he not experience in brutality and the vicious nature of the way men treated him? To pour out means to empty oneself. I’m going to the book of Psalms this time to Psalm number 22. In Psalm 22 and in verse 14. Psalm 22 and verse 14. This Psalm, by the way, has been called the Psalm of the Cross. In Psalm 22 and verse 14, it says, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. This again is the prophecy of the death of our Savior Jesus.

And the picture here is a picture of extreme exhaustion, of acute weakness and defeat. And notice the language, my bones are out of joint. Did you realize that crucifixion often dislocated the shoulders? A man’s arms being stretched, the body hanging from his hands, often dislocated the shoulders. It was a terrible, terrible thing. Back to Isaiah 53, one more time. Isaiah 53, verse 5 this time. It says, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. That word stripes there means beating. It’s the idea of being beaten on the back. But notice the first part of that verse, Isaiah 53, 5 says, He was wounded for our transgressions. You may have another translation that says he was pierced for our translation, for our transgression.

If you look again at Strong’s lexicon, Strong says that this word pierced or wounded means to bore, as to bore a hole. Like holes were driven in his hands and in his feet. The word means to pierce so as to slay a person.

6. That’s What Happened to Him

It says it was marred. The word marred means to be disfigured. One person said this. I saw the movie The Passion of Christ and I saw how his eye was swollen and I saw the bruises all over his body. I don’t like seeing Jesus like that. I I don’t think that’s an honorable thing to portray him like that. Well, that’s too bad, Mister, because that’s what happened to him.

I saw a little cartoon one time. The Lord’s Supper was being taken in an assembly of the saints. The man at the Lord’s table was talking about the suffering of Jesus and how he was beaten without mercy. And here’s a drawing of a mother and her little boy, the little boy, maybe six, eight, nine years old, something like that. And the little boy listening to that story began to cry. And the mother patted him on the head and said, There, there, son, don’t take it so seriously. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the problem. That’s the problem that Christians have. They don’t take the death of Jesus Christ seriously. There are people who are Christians who will who will maybe go to that movie and walk out part way through because it’s something they don’t want to ever think about.

Conclusion

But you need to think about a man, a man whose visage was marred more than any man, one who was fierced for our transgressions.