“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
The story is a familiar one: a man, beaten and scourged by Roman soldiers, mocked and ridiculed by his own people, and killed in one of the most brutal ways in history.
“The Passion” is the term used to describe the last few hours of Jesus Christ’s life, beginning with his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, the whips that tore into his flesh, the crown of thorns rammed into his head, and the carrying of his cross through the dirty streets. It ends with his crucifixion as he cries, “It is finished.”
The story of Christ’s death is the subject of the new film by veteran actor and director Mel Gibson.
Bringing the last few hours of Jesus’ death to the big screen has caused ripples through the religious community, with talk of religious movements and anti-Semitism reaching far across the globe.
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8.
Depicting the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ’s death, “The Passion of the Christ” has been criticized, ridiculed, and praised worldwide. All this before it has even been released.
Gibson stresses that he has remained true to the Christian Gospels. The characters speak entirely in Latin and Aramaic, the languages spoken by the Romans and Jews at the time. There have even been published reports that Pope John Paul II has said, “It is as it was.”
Gibson does, however, claim that he was inspired by other sources for the film, including two Catholic nuns who experienced visions of the Passion. This, as well as taking the Gospels literally and talk of anti-Semitism, has stirred the pot of controversy for the months. Now with the movie opening next week, the hype continues to grow.
Gibson defended his movie, and in an ABC Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer Monday, he spoke about his reasons for making the film.
“I wanted it to be shocking, and I also wanted it to be extreme,” Gibson said. “I wanted to push the viewer over the edge, so that they see the enormity of the sacrifice, to see that someone could endure that and still come back with love and forgiveness.”
“Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he might be Lord of those who are alive and of those who have died.” Romans 14:9.
Christian groups around campus and across the United States are anticipating the Wednesday release of “The Passion of the Christ.” Religious organizations have bought out entire theatres for the first few showings of what could be the biggest Christian movie ever created.
Their goal is to have as many people as possible see the movie so the message of Jesus’ dying on the cross can reach everyone.
Steve Masters, director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at LSU, felt the need to spread the news of “The Passion.” He organized a meeting of religious organization leaders at LSU to discuss buying out theatres in the Baton Rouge area so that the members of these groups and their friends can see the movie.
The result: more than 745 tickets will be purchased by religious organizations on campus. These organizations include the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Christ the King Catholic Church, Christian Student Center, Campus Crusade for Christ, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, The Wesley Foundation, and the Assembly of God church.
Some of these groups are planning to have discussions after the movie for those who have questions about Jesus’ suffering and death.
“My hope and prayer is that Christians will be there to share their answers and beliefs about why Christ did what he did on the cross,” Masters said. “That’s why my goal is to encourage as many students as possible to see the movie. Then, they can draw their own conclusions.”
Masters feels that the movie could have positive effects on students at LSU.
“I feel like a student that believes in Christ as their Lord and Savior, I think their faith in Christ will be strengthened as a result of seeing the movie as it reminds them of what Christ did for them on the cross,” Masters said.
He also discussed the impact the movie could have on those who have lost touch with God.
“I think some students who have a belief in Christ as Savior, but they’ve drifted away from God, and maybe they’re not living a lifestyle that they think they should, I think that those students will be challenged to live a more Christian lifestyle,” he said. “Someone that may not know Christ as Savior will want to try to understand more why Christ did what he did on the cross.”
According to ABC’s Primetime, Gibson believes that the Bible is historical fact. This is where the debate begins.
“‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked.
They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’
‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility!’
All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!'” Matthew 27:22-25.
For thousands of years, Christian Scripture has been contorted into being anti-Semitic. Taken literally, the Gospels could insinuate that the Jews, yelling to “crucify him,” were the ones who mudered Jesus.
The Second Vatican Council, which met from 1962 to 1965 to reform the Roman Catholic Church, condemned holding the Jews responsible for Christ’s death.
“The passages dealing with the death of Jesus and his crucifixion, those passages have been dealt with by the Second Vatican Council in the year 1965,” said Rabbi Barry Weinstein from the B’nai Synagogue in Baton Rouge. “And the Second Vatican Council made a big point in saying that we must be very careful in indicting the Jewish people for the death of Jesus. We know from certain things that Mr. Gibson does not look favorably upon the advances of the Second Vatican Council.”
The fact that Gibson, a very conservative Catholic, used the Gospels as his main source for the movie is the hot-button issue being debated between religious groups.
“Of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John was written the latest,” said Shawn Anglim, campus minister of the Wesley Foundation. “You see more of the family feud. Jewish Christians lashing out against Jews. We read it as if those Jews did something to Christians. Gibson has chosen that Gospel to tell the passion story, which will make it sound anti-Jewish, when the writer wouldn’t have been thinking like that.”
One verse in particular from the Gospel of Matthew — where the Jews shout, “Let his blood be on us and on our children” — has been the subject of anti-Semitism in the past. In the interview with Sawyer, Gibson discussed his decision to remove the controversial line from his movie. It can still be heard in the background in Aramaic, but the English subtitle was cut out of the final version.
According to Weinstein, tension between Jewish-Christian relationships is the biggest concern.
“Unfortunately, I think the movie already has not been very helpful to good Jewish-Christian relationships,” he said. “I’m not angry, I’m not upset — I’m concerned. We have such really good relationships here and around the country. Everyone is fragile. These relationships have taken decades and decades to improve.”
Talk of this movie sparking anti-Semitism attacks is what concerns many Jewish leaders worldwide, including Abraham Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
“Seeing passion plays used to incite not only a passion of love in terms of Christianity, but at the same time, to instill and incite a hatred of the Jews because of deicide,” Foxman told CNN.
Another concern is that the movie could increase anti-Semitism in parts of the world where there is already hatred aimed at the Jews.
“In certain parts of Europe, people are afraid to walk down the street with a yarmulke because they’re going to be persecuted,” Weinstein said. “We know that anti-Semitic feelings in certain parts of Europe and Asia are very strong. We know that there’s quite a bit of feeling against Israel today in certain parts of the world. Personally, I would have concern about now this being heaped onto it.”
Nathan Torrey, a general studies sophomore who had the privilege of seeing an advanced screening of the movie, does not believe that the movie will fuel anti-Semitism.
“I had heard the charges before, so I tried to go in as objectively as I could,” he said. “I have my own beliefs, but I tried to step back from those a little during the movie so I could try to take it objectively. I guess everyone’s going to have their own feelings after the movie. I personally didn’t feel any anti-Semitism. I think the only way you’re going to get any hate out of the movie or feel that afterwards is if you go into the movie already with those feelings. I don’t think the movie will turn you into an anti-Semite.”
“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me — that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.” Corinthians 15:3.
According to Gibson and Christians worldwide, the entire human race killed Jesus because he died for the sins of the world. According to history, however, the Romans are responsible for Jesus’ death. Only the Romans crucified.
“Pontius Pilate, as far as he’s known from other historical records, was a pretty harsh ruler,” said Steven Ross, assistant professor of history at LSU. “He was known for putting down any hint of rebellion quite firmly. I have a feeling that’s exactly what was going on there.”
According to Newsweek, however, the movie plays down the involvement of Pontius Pilate and plays up the role of the Jewish temple elders. Gibson even went so far as to invent a scene, where Pilate contemplates his decision.
“If I don’t condemn him, Caiaphas will start a rebellion; if I do, his followers will,” he says in the film, played by Italian actor Mattia Sbragia.
Gibson also claims to have been inspired by the visions of the nuns Mary of Agreda and Anne Catherine Emmerich.
“To take more liberty with it, beyond what’s written in the Christian Bible, pulling in other material from other sources makes me more concerned about the impact on Jewish-Christian relations,” Weinstein said.
There is also speculation that what is written in the Gospels might not be historically accurate, due to the amount of time between Jesus’ death and when they were actually written.
“When you hear one particular group of Jews being criticized or slandered even in the Gospel text, that isn’t correctly called anti-Semitism, but it can be used that way and has been used that way historically,” Ross said. “[The gospel writers] were aware that the Roman community and the Roman authority was watching and listening. It seems to me that they probably played down the Roman aspect of Jesus’ teachings. That might also have influenced this picture of Pontius Pilate looking like the nice guy who was pushed into allowing Jesus to be sacrificed.”
“He spoke to them again and said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'” John 20:21.
No one is completely sure how much of an effect this movie will have, whether good or bad, in Baton Rouge as well as all over the world.
“It has made what all Christians believe in real and vivid,” Torrey said. “I don’t see how it could do anything but help. It’s such a powerful movie, you walk away changed.”
That is one hope among religious leaders: that those who have lost their faith will be changed.
“Not having seen the movie, I think that it can draw people back to their bibles and their priests and ministers and rabbis,” said Weinstein. “I hope that it would lead to greater understanding of brotherhood and sisterhood as people of faith.”