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Insights:
The Garden
In order to
understand and truly appreciate what is taking place in the
opening scenes of The Passion of The Christ, one must
go all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
In
Genesis Chapter 3, mankind is separated from God and
removed from His presence by being expelled from Eden. Not
only does man lose dominion of the earth, but also he causes
the entire creation to be thrown into slavery to
corruption (Romans
8:20-21). All of this happens because the
progenitor of the human race sinned. Eve was deceived
by the serpent; Adam chose willfully to follow her and sin
against God by doing the one thing God had forbidden him to
do - eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
God,
who is holy, cannot by His
very
nature tolerate sin. It provokes His wrath and must be
judged. Yet God is also rich in mercy, so within the
judgment pronounced on the serpent, there is an incredible
promise1.
The following verse sets the
stage for the entire movie:
"And I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her seed.
He shall crush you on the head and you shall bruise Him on
the heel."2
Genesis
3:15
The film opens with Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, back in the garden. He stands
there as the "Last Adam"
(1
Corinthians 15:45) in communion/fellowship with His
Father. Since He is also the promised "seed of woman",
the real spiritual battle is here. Will He take and
drink the chalice, the cup of God's wrath (Psalm
75:8), surrendering His life in atonement for sin or
will He listen to the voice of the Accuser? The
crushing of the serpent's head signifies His choice.
The Father's Will will be done. This is the victory.
From this point on there is no question, no doubt, no
temptation that will keep Him from accomplishing His
passion.3
The character of Satan is
incredibly captured in the hooded genderless figure.
The worm crawling up the nose comes from
Isaiah 14:11, one of the two veiled references to Satan
in the Old Testament.4
Notice Satan's primary tactic is always to attack at the
point of identity: "Who is Your Father, who are You?"
The Betrayal
There is an important
principle seen in the scenes of Judas' betrayal; it is
how the presence of Satan activates the mob to do his
will. This will be demonstrated throughout the movie.
In this case the taunting, demonized children drive
Judas out to the place where Satan wants him.
There is no doubt the dead donkey5
covered in maggots and flies is supposed to be the
donkey that carried Christ into Jerusalem on Palm
Sunday.
The Three
Trials
In the film, as in the
Scriptures, Christ is brought before three men for three
separate trials. All three are powerfully captured
in the film. It is important to understand what is
taking place here. Correctly understood, it would
debunk any accusation of anti-Semitism.
The first trial is before
the High Priest and a hurriedly gathered group of the
Sanhedrin. It is at night, and it is illegal. The
second trial is the following morning before the Roman
Procurator, Pontius Pilate. The third is before
King Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee.
The significance of these
three men/groups is that each one represents a "world
system". The High Priest/Sanhedrin represents the
system of religion/education; Pontius Pilate/Rome is the
system of government; King Herod signifies the
system of entertainment. Jesus Christ had to be
tried and convicted before each "system", so that when
He was crucified and resurrected, these kingdoms/world
forces of darkness (Ephesians
6:12) would be cast down and overthrown.
The questions asked in each
trial leave no doubt that this is true. The
Sanhedrin want to know if Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God; the Sanhedrin are interested in
spiritual/religious matters. Pilate wants to know if
Jesus is Christ, the King of the Jews; Pilate is
concerned with government. The debauched Herod
wants only to be entertained with signs and wonders.
Note that Jesus answers the first two, but does not
condescend to the latter.
Finally, the order of the
trials says something about the strength of each system.
Many people think the entertainment/media system is the
most potent, but it is only the loudest and most
visible. The world of government is more
significant, yet even it is not as powerful as the world
of religion and education.6
Ultimately, this system is
the most commanding and the most hidden (i.e. trial and
capture at night). Religion and education deal
with the realm of men's beliefs and ideas, which are the
seeds from which all other systems grow.
This film is not
anti-Semitic any more than it is anti-Roman or anti-The
Herodian Dynasty. These figures only represent
kingdoms of this world that are in opposition to the
Kingdom of God and therefore The King, Jesus Christ.
The Three
Crosses
"And when
they came to a place called the skull, there they
crucified Him and the criminals,
one on the right and the other on the left."
Luke 23:33
There had to be three
crosses. Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross
for the sins of mankind. He offered redemption
through His blood to all who would receive Him.
The other two crosses represent those who will accept
His offer and those who will not. The two
criminals are representatives for these two groups.
One confesses his sin and recognizes the King, while the
other mocks and rejects Him. In the film, this
criminal is judicially blinded for his rejection of
Truth, a visual picture of a spiritual reality.
Years later when the Apostle Paul writes that he has
been crucified with Christ (Galatians
2:20), he is reminding his readers that he is in
that group who identifies with Christ, just as the
forgiven sinner did.
The
Father's Tear
Mel Gibson gives an
incredible picture of the Father's heart when he uses
the tear of God released from Heaven to set off the
earthquake after Jesus has died. Symbolically, it
is judgment; it shatters all the world systems as
evidenced by the scenes of Pilate, the High Priest, and
Satan himself being cast down.
The
Brave Heart
There has been much
criticism of Mel Gibson for making The Passion of The
Christ. People have accused him of everything
from anti-Semitism to making the movie for money.
They have scoffed at his own explanation that he was led
by the Holy Spirit.
Gibson stands firm in his belief of the calling of Jesus
Christ on his life in regards to this movie and believes
that there was no way that he could not have made The
Passion of The Christ".
In 1995, Gibson starred in
and directed a film that was acclaimed by the world and
rewarded with Hollywood's highest honor, the Academy
Award7.
What the world and Hollywood did not understand is that
Braveheart was part of Gibson's preparation for
making The Passion of The Christ. For
Braveheart is the story of Jesus Christ veiled in
the life of William Wallace (see
Movie Glimpse -
Braveheart). Jim Caviezel, who portrays
Jesus in "The Passion of The Christ, was
likewise prepared as he played the Count of Monte Cristo
in the film of the same name (see
Movie
Glimpse - Count of Monte Cristo).
Obviously, these men and their "passion" are part of a
much Larger Story. Gibson like Wallace in
Braveheart and Christ in reality experienced "the
years of popularity". Gibson may now enter into "the
falling away" phase, a sacrifice he has been willing to
make as he follows his Lord.
Braveheart has a
beautiful ending. The Sons of Scotland are
gathered on the field of Bannockburn, and it is
Wallace's sword that is flung out to lead them in the
final battle for freedom. The Passion of The
Christ is no less a sword. It has been flung
and has landed in the heart of the enemy, and he
hates it.
Notes:
1.
Genesis 3:15 is called the
Protevangelium - the "First Gospel".
2. "You shall bruise Him on the
heel" is a reference to the Crucifixion.
3.
His passion is the redemption of
His bride. Unlike Adam who followed his bride into
sin, Christ sacrifices Himself in order to save His bride,
the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27).
4. There are two
passages in the Old Testament,
Isaiah 14:11-15 and
Ezekiel 28:11-19, that most conservative
scholars believe are references to Lucifer's (Satan) fall.
5. The scene of the
donkey is artistic not scriptural.
The Scriptures make clear that Satan entered into Judas and
that he hung himself (John 12:27 &
Matthew 27:5).
6. Prior to the
modern age, education was conducted
through the religious establishment.
7.
Braveheart won five Academy
Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
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