B|*ZZ4rD

This was written by Jody Dean who is a member of Richland Hills Church of Christ

and is a Dallas TV anchor.

All...

There've been a ton of emails and forwards floating around recently from
those who've had the privilege of seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The
Christ" prior to its actual release. I thought I'd give you my reaction
after seeing it last night.

The screening was on the first night of "Elevate!", a weekend-long
seminar for young people at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. There were
about 2,000 people there, and the movie was shown after several speakers had
taken the podium. It started around 9 and finished around 11...so I reckon
the film is about two hours in length. Frankly, I lost complete track of
time - so I can't be sure.

I want you to know that I started in broadcasting when I was
13-years-old. I've been in the business of writing, performing, production,
and broadcasting for a long time. I've been a part of movies, radio,
television, stage and other productions - so I know how things are done. I
know about soundtracks and special effects and make-up and screenplays. I
think I've seen just about every kind of movie or TV show ever made - from
extremely inspirational to extremely gory. I read a lot, too - and have
covered stories and scenes that still make me wince. I also have a vivid
imagination, and have the ability to picture things as they must have
happened - or to anticipate things as they will be portrayed. I've also seen
an enormous amount of footage from Gibson's film, so I thought I knew what
was coming.

But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could have read, seen,
heard, thought, or known - that could have prepared me for what I saw on
screen last night.

This is not a movie that anyone will "like". I don't think it's a movie
anyone will "love". It certainly doesn't "entertain". There isn't even the
sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is, is an experience - on a
level of primary emotion that is scarcely comprehensible. Every shred of
human preconception or predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one will
eat popcorn during this film. Some may not eat for days after they've seen
it. Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.

I can see why some people are worried about how the film portrays the
Jews. They should be worried. No, it's not anti-Semitic. What it is, is
entirely shattering. There are no "winners". No one comes off looking "good"
- except Jesus. Even His own mother hesitates. As depicted, the Jewish
leaders of Jesus' day merely do what any of us would have done - and still
do. They protected their perceived "place" - their sense of safety and
security, and the satisfaction of their own "rightness". But everyone
falters. Caiphus judges. Peter denies. Judas betrays. Simon the Cyrene
balks. Mark runs away. Pilate equivocates. The crowd mocks. The soldiers
laugh. Longinus still stabs with his pilus. The centurion still carries out
his orders. And as Jesus fixes them all with a glance, they still turn away.
The Jews, the Romans, Jesus' friends - they all fall. Everyone, except the
Principal Figure. Heaven sheds a single, mighty tear - and as blood and
water spew from His side, the complacency of all creation is eternally
shattered.

The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never lets go. The
brutality, humiliation, and gore is almost inconceivable - and still
probably doesn't go far enough. The scourging alone seems to never end, and
you cringe at the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how steely
your nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison will have trouble,
no matter their experience - because this Man was not conscripted. He went
willingly, laying down His entirety for all. It is one thing for a soldier
to die for his countrymen. It's something else entirely to think of even a
common man dying for those who hate and wish to kill him. But this is no
common man. This is the King of the Universe. The idea that anyone could or
would have gone through such punishment is unthinkable - but this Man was
completely innocent, completely holy - and paying the price for others. He
screams as He is laid upon the cross, "Father, they don't know. They don't
know..."

What Gibson has done is to use all of his considerable skill to portray
the most dramatic moment of the most dramatic events since the dawn of time.
There is no escape. It's a punch to the gut that puts you on the canvas, and
you don't get up. You are simply confronted by the horror of what was done -
what had to be done - and why. Throughout the entire film, I found myself
apologizing.

What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was no
sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got up. No one
moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In all my years of public
life, I have never heard anything like that.

I told many of you that Gibson had reportedly re-shot the ending to
include more "hope" through the Resurrection? That's not true. The
Resurrection scene is perhaps the shortest in the entire movie - and yet it
packs a punch that can't be quantified. It is perfect. There is no way to
negotiate the meaning out of it. It simply asks, "Now, what will you do?"

I'll leave the details to you, in the hope that you will see the film -
but one thing above all stands out, and I have to tell you about it. It
comes from the end of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness - where the Bible
says Satan left him "until a more opportune time". I imagine Satan never
quit tempting Christ, but this film captures beyond words the most opportune
time. At every step of the way, Satan is there at Jesus' side - imploring
Him to quit, reasoning with Him to give up, and seducing Him to surrender.
For the first time, one gets an heart-stopping idea of the sense of madness
that must have enveloped Jesus - a sense of the evil that was at His very
elbow. The physical punishment is relentless - but it's the sense of
psychological torture that is most overwhelming. He should have quit. He
should have opened His mouth. He should have called 10,000 angels. No one
would have blamed Him. What we deserve is obvious. But He couldn't do that.
He wouldn't do that. He didn't do that. He doesn't do that. It was not and
is not His character. He was obedient, all the way to the cross - and you
feel the real meaning of that phrase in a place the human heart usually
doesn't dare to go. You understand that we are called to that same level of
obedience. With Jesus' humanity so irresistibly on display, you understand
that we have no excuse. There is no place to hide.

The truth is this: Is it just a "movie"? In a way, yes. But it goes far
beyond that, in a fashion I've never felt - in any forum. We may think we
"know". We know nothing. We've gone 2,000 years - used to the idea of a
pleasant story, and a sanitized Christ. We expect the ending, because we've
heard it so many times. God forgive us. This film tears that all away. It's
is as close as any of us will ever get to knowing, until we fully know. Paul
understood. "Be urgent, in and out of season."

Luke wrote that Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread.
Exactly. "The Passion Of The Christ" shows that Bread being broken.

Go see this movie.

His, and His alone.
jody