Brandi Gottlieb
Published: April 13 2004
Blood. Betrayal. Affliction. Hope. Inspiration. Love. These are elements that can make us “feel.”
“I want to inspire and make people feel,” said Mel Gibson of his film, “The Passion of the Christ,” during his ABC primetime interview with Diane Sawyer.
While watching Gibson’s shocking, extreme, over-the-edge passion depictions, many across the nation, including me, have been made to “feel” through this powerful production.
As I watched the film, I was no longer in my theater seat, but rather in the midst of the turmoil and tears.
Gibson’s use of relationship-dynamics, artistic imagery, and symbolism made the Passion a breathing reality from the Garden-prayer that drew blood and sweat from a man passionate about His purpose.
From the opening scene, I felt like one of Christ’s disciples, following the Rabbi. I was captured in a man’s passionate plea; a man willing to yield to a purpose bigger than himself and to a plan in which He was willing to “drink from His cup of suffering.”
From Christ’s prayer to His Passion, Gibson made me feel as though I wasn’t separated by the “fourth wall” (an actor’s tool used to “separate” him from the world of his audience). Instead, I was tied to Mary Magdalene, the Mother Mary, his brother James, the thief to His left; all the while praying that I’d never be tied to Judas the thieving betrayer.
Mary Magdalene’s flashback to her personal deliverance from death is one of the most powerful scenes that Gibson uses to establish these ties. During the dramatization, I almost hear Magdalene’s cry of gratitude, while feeling the pain she seems to be drowning in during Christ’s crucifixion.
“Who am I, Jesus, that you ould save me from my judgment of death? I was the one caught in adultery, drug to the holy temple, condemned by the religious. Lord, my accusers now accuse you. It’s MY body that should have been ripped apart by the stones; I was guilty! Yet, today they ravage YOUR flesh. Lord, what crime have YOU committed?”
Treading alongside Jesus down the Via de la Rosa, His mother also remembers. From the images of the child she so lovingly raised, to the man being beat to a bloody pulp before her eyes, I sensed her connection to Jesus as both man and God.
Jesus came as one sharing in the sympathy of humanity’s disease and weakness. He was tempted like man on all points, but found to be sinless (Heb.4:15).
I didn’t see a religious icon; unattainable to the cries of humanity. Gibson’s depiction of Christ’s relationships caused me to see Jesus as someone who personally related to those in His earthly walk in a very powerful and compassionate way; and yet is still the same today.
“It is as it was,” was Pope John Paul’s comment concerning Gibson’s interpretation of the Christ’s passion. Gibson stated in his ABC interview that he based his work off of the four gospels. Yet, how much “creative license” did Gibson take?
Many people question Satan’s appearance in the garden, Judas’ demonized “children,” and other forms of symbolism that Gibson uses. As a follower of Christ’s teachings (but by no means an expert), I believe Gibson stayed true to the Gospels.
The spirit realm is a real dimension, and I appreciate Gibson’s boldness to unveil that aspect within the context of the story.
Yes, Judas was possessed; Satan entered him before his betrayal (John 13:27).
Yes, Jesus was tempted on earth. Satan’s temptation of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was figurative of the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus was God’s promised seed that would “crush the head of the serpent,” according to Genesis 3:15. The Serpent finally faced his ultimate demise, as Gibson illustrated by Satan’s wicked cry during the crucifixion. Jesus defeated principalities, making an open show, while gaining victory over them through the cross (Col. 2:15).
Being wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, He was so mutilated and disfigured that men were devastated at what they saw (Is 52:14).
I would have been too.
Like Mary Magdalene, I found myself set free from a judgment of death, crying at His feet, thankful for His love and forgiveness.
Gibson said that all of humanity’s sin nailed Jesus to the cross.
Jesus laid down His life, became the ultimate sacrifice for man’s re-union to God, and then bodily came back to life. This is the story of the Passion. This is the story of blood, betrayal, affliction, hope and inspiration. This is the story of Love.