Table Rock State Park, Branson, Missouri
From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. ~ Matthew 16:21
Have you seen “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson? Released in 2004, it is the most graphic and realistic depiction of the suffering of Jesus that’s ever been portrayed. Sure, the film has some Catholic overtones and one particularly disturbing scene with ‘Satan’ holding a demonic ‘baby’ for some inexplicable reason (see quote below), but we believe it’s important to our faith to watch the film. To see what our Lord actually endured, as fully man, on our behalf. To see the cost. It wasn’t a lovely, bloodless easy sacrifice like you see on crucifixes. It was the worst possible way to die. It had to be. So that no one could ever say to God, ‘You don’t understand’. And in addition to the physical torture, Jesus also had to endure separation from the Father. A break in the Trinity. For the first and only time. We can never understand or experience that depth of anguish.
Everyone should watch it – multiple times in their life. And try not to look away. And try not to allow it to affect you in a deep and moving and tear-filled way. It can’t be done. It should change your life and your relationship with Him.
During the filming of The Passion of the Christ, actor Jim Caviezel (who volunteered to play the role, telling Mel that he felt called to it) endured accidental lashings, a dislocated shoulder, pneumonia, a lung infection, persistent migraines (from having his eye cosmetically swollen), and getting struck by lightning – almost twice in a row. And for the most part, Hollywood shunned him afterwards. Seems he made some of his own sacrifices in his attempt to portray our Lord.
Filming The Passion of the Christ had a pretty profound effect on many people involved in the production, and the film’s set became the site of some religious conversions.
One actor who converted from being a self-proclaimed “angry atheist” was Luca Lionello, the actor who plays Judas. Near the end of production, Lionello accepted the film’s title character as his lord and savior.
Not only did the film have a profound effect on the atheist actor who played Judas, it affected a cast member of the Islamic faith. “One of the guys working on the film was a Muslim,” Caviezel told The 700 Club. “He was one of the guards who beat me, and he converted. He had a real big experience there, you know?”
When asked why he portrayed Satan—an androgynous, almost beautiful being played by Rosalinda Celentano—the way he did, Gibson replied: “I believe the Devil is real, but I don’t believe he shows up too often with horns and smoke and a forked tail. The devil is smarter than that. Evil is alluring, attractive. It looks almost normal, almost good—but not quite.
“That’s what I tried to do with the Devil in the film. The actor’s face is symmetric, beautiful in a certain sense, but not completely. For example, we shaved her eyebrows. Then we shot her almost in slow motion so you don’t see her blink—that’s not normal. We dubbed in a man’s voice in Gethsemane even though the actor is a woman … That’s what evil is about, taking something that’s good and twisting it a little bit.”
But what about the ugly baby?
“Again,” said Gibson, “it’s evil distorting what’s good. What is more tender and beautiful than a mother and a child? So the Devil takes that and distorts it just a little bit. Instead of a normal mother and child you have an androgynous figure holding a 40-year-old ‘baby’ with hair on his back. It is weird, it is shocking, it’s almost too much—just like turning Jesus over to continue scourging him on his chest is shocking and almost too much, which is the exact moment when this appearance of the Devil and the baby takes place.”
Jim Caviezel is set to reprise his most famous role in Gibson’s upcoming sequel to The Passion. “I won’t tell you how he’s going to go about it,” Caviezel told USA Today. “But I’ll tell you this much, the film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.”
There’s no release date yet, but it seems likely to be in 2023. Maybe in time for next Easter? We’re looking forward to it.
We also watched the first four episodes of the Christian series, “The Chosen”. Again, a much different perspective on known Biblical facts, but what are we to do? It’s Hollywood. Read your Bible, so you can distinguish between what’s Biblical fact and what’s dramatic license, and then enjoy.
In between raindrops, we took a short walk over to the marina. There wasn’t much to see, except a few gorgeous flowers. A bright spot on this dark day.
