The Passion of the Christ

I was lucky enough to see The Passion of the Christ just before Christmas 2003 and I would strongly encourage all believers to see it, pray for it and work with it. I believe that by the grace of God, it will be the greatest resource for outreach via popular-media that there has ever been. I feel this way for several reasons.

First, the film reminded me of the opening fifteen minutes of Saving Private Ryan in that it is inescapably realistic. I felt like I was there. I did not doubt the pain and anguish of the characters thrust upon me, and I found myself at times recoiling from the blows inflicted upon our Saviour.

Second, it is biblically accurate, portrays Jesus well (not merely as an American actor on a cross or as someone who's just 'happy' or well-adjusted) and for the other details relies on historical research and what we know of the Roman Empire's way of doing things at that time.

Third, I felt as I came out of the screening that there is a great amount of detail in the movie that you don't read in the Bible...until you read the Bible again. For Matthew, Mark, Luke and John do record Jesus' beatings - but they do so each in one sentence or so. For example, the film gives us understanding of what Matthew meant by "...he had Jesus flogged" (Matt. 27:26). Anyone living in the Roman Empire at the time knew what a flogging was, but most of us in Western Society would (thankfully) have never witnessed one. As I read the same accounts on my way home from the cinema I would read one sentence from the Bible and remember it as a significant portion of the film. It seems to work in the same way a commentary does, except it shows us all the added information rather than telling us.

Fourth, what defines this film from other gospel movies is its popular appeal. Whether it is because of its director (Mel Gibson), all the press coverage so far, or simply because it's a product of Hollywood, this film will be popular among all types of people. Anyone interested in who "that Jesus fellow" was but who doesn't want to be confronted by a "pushy Christian talking about Jesus" can see it without the intimidation of a one-on-one discussion or attending a church.

For these reasons, please, as a believer, pray that God will use the film to call people to Him. Please also see the movie yourself. I found that I left the movie with teary eyes, and with a renewed and strengthened desire to know my loving Creator. Please also invite your friends to see the movie. But what may be best of all, you can actually get your church to organise a private screening of the film and have a talk afterwards using the facilities of the cinema. Just ring your local cinema to arrange it. I can assure you that there are few situations where an evangelistic speaker would have a more captive audience than after a screening of this movie.