The Passion of the Christ

by Editor · March 31, 2004

In The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson has presented the account of Christ’s passion with fidelity to the gospels, augmented by scenes in which the director took artistic licence.

The Passion has the power to make a lasting impact on the faith of many viewers. It may well change many lives. At the very least, no viewer will be a worse Christian for it.

Many of the reservations regarding The Passion have centred on the film’s graphic violence. It is indeed an extraordinarily and relentlessly brutal film. For some viewers, witnessing the forensic torture of our Lord will be unbearable, while others may find it numbing. Certainly, no child should be allowed to see this film.

Gibson claims that he restrained himself from incorporating even more violence (though it is difficult to see how he could have exceeded what is shown in the film). The question arises whether our redemption depends on the aggregate of Christ’s suffering.

The focus on the agony of our Lord certainly may help believers comprehend the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice. It is improbable, however, that The Passion will be a suitable vehicle for evangelisation efforts. While the scenes of savagery interspersed with flashbacks depicting the institution of the Eucharist will make sense to the Christian viewer, the non-believer may well be left wondering to what purpose Christ submitted himself to such a cruel death.

Jewish and Christian observers have expressed misgivings about The Passion’s potential to unleash anti-Semitic emotions. In light of almost two millennia of anti-Semitic practices in the Christian church, these concerns may not be brushed aside too easily (though some of the opposition may well have been opportunistic).

The Passion, however, is not an anti-Semitic film.

The problem with any film of this nature will be the inherent tension between Jews and Christians that arises over whether Jesus is the Messiah or not. When the film shows Jesus being assaulted, mocked and spat at by Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin, some Christians, especially those of a fundamentalist bent, may experience an exasperation that Jews continue to deny the Messiah. This should not result in anti-Semitism, but may reinforce already existing prejudices. This must be taken into account.

To that end, the Catholic Church rightly has taken the opportunity to clearly spell out its teachings on its relationship with Judaism. The Church teaches unequivocally that Jews cannot be blamed collectively for the death of Christ.

Likewise, the film emphasises that Jesus was incarnated as man so that he might atone for the sins of humanity by the will of the Father. In a telling symbolism, Gibson appears in the movie only in that his is the hand which hammers a nail into Christ’s hand.

The scenes of the lynch mob demanding Jesus’ crucifixion might give the faithful pause to reflect on similar conduct in the Church’s history and indeed on a Christian tendency to condemn too quickly.

The Passion of the Christ is a cinematic masterpiece that should be seen by mature Christians who can absorb the repetitious depiction of cruelty against our Lord.

It may be too much to hope for, but a sequel detailing the resurrection (hinted at only in a coda to the film) and its aftermath would take The Passion to its proper conclusion.