The Passion of the Christ – "He Took My Place"

If there ever were a film with the correct title, that film would have to be Mel Gibson’s "The Passion of the Christ". Although the word passion has become associated with romance, its Latin origin refers to suffering and pain. The film uses the word to give us a front row witness of the love of Jesus Christ, and His willingness to suffer and die to redeem us from sin. Even more so were my thoughts throughout the movie, "He took my place, it was my punishment that He bore; not only did He do it for me, but He did it instead of me."

The movie carries an "R" rating because over 100 of the 126 minutes contain graphic displays of the torture and death of our Lord. The soldiers were barely out of the Garden of Gethsemane before the beatings started. Jesus’ scorned march down the Via Dolorosa brought tears to my eyes, and as I watched Him being nailed to that cross, I let the tears go. He took my place and suffered instead of me.

Churches everywhere know the message of the gospel. Christ suffered, Christ died, Christ rose again and we’re redeemed. But what Gibson has provided for us for the first time ever (at least to my knowledge), is a visceral idea of what His Passion may have consisted of. This is not a sermon or an accusation of any group. It is an uninhibited visualization of the central event upon which I base my faith. We can take it or leave it, but the film succeeded in demonstrating that Christ suffered like no other ever has or will.

An individual unfamiliar with the gospels may be confused with the content, but Christians will have no trouble making sense out of the flow of events. Even Satan’s weird presence in selective spots added weight to the load Christ had to carry, but I must admit I could not figure out the point of the ugly baby that Satan was carrying. I guess that’s just Hollywood.

I confess that I entered the movie in my usual spiritual mood, but I left in shock. I had read reviews and knew to some extent what to expect, but the whippings, and floggings, and beatings, and agonizing screams, the bone crunching and the sadistic cruelty inflicted on the body of Jesus just left me speechless. In fact, once the movie ended, everyone in the crowded theater was shocked and disturbed. If Jesus had to go through this to redeem us from sin, then sin must truly be worse than we think. Perhaps those who view this movie will rethink the fascination they had with the fun side of sin and see it for what it truly is (wage of sin is death).

Although the film dresses Pilate up to be an innocent pawn caught between a rock and a hard place, and having no other options but to crucify Christ, we know historically that he was a ferocious murderer. And although he did not see a reason to condemn Jesus to die, both he and the High Priest lived at a time when it was too dangerous to let a man like this live. (I didn’t hear John 18:14, but I may have missed it).

At the time I saw the movie, it was sold out for weeks. This is definitely not a film that I would call commercial, and if it grosses millions, it will not be because anyone was entertained. It is a personal message movie, and it is radical. It is not the type of movie I would expect to sweep the awards, but it moved my heart unlike any other. Well, was it "good" or "great"? Let’s just say it was "powerful", I never got lost or distracted and I brought my popcorn home.

To Mel Gibson I would like to say, "God Bless You". To the film’s overall depiction of what Christ has to suffer in His physical body to redeem us, I find no fault.

There is a twofold part to the passion of Christ. It is true that He dies for our sins. We who have confessed Him as our Lord and Savior believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead thereby giving us eternal life. but the scripture also says that he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed Isaiah 53:5. Christ suffered for us. He took our place, and because He did, we have the God-given right to claim wholeness in every area of our life. It is ours to receive and enjoy.

By: Edmund Brown