Welcome to my randomized study & miscellaneous thoughts about the Awesome God of the universe, who He is and what He wants us to be.

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Verse of the Day

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Today's Quote

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The Passion of the Christ

"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5


I viewed this movie last night in a sold-out theater with hundreds of other members of our local church. The impact on me was intense and I am still trying to process what I saw, heard and felt. These are my own reactions immediately and after an evening of thought.

1. Imagery
   Incredible! To the point of either awe-inspiring or ferociously vicious leaving me in tears! I loved the realism and attention to detail I saw in the dress of the Sanhedrin and Roman soldiers. The appearance of the religious leaders - both in dress and mannerisms - made me think of the terms "organized religion," ritualistic and lofty-power-hungry-self-important men. The Roman soldiers made me think of the Imperial Storm Troopers from the Star Wars movies, except for the portrayal of their own individual sadistic inhumanity and brutality.
   
   The movie is not for the weak stomached! It presents a graphic depiction of the last hours of Jesus' life. I've read some reviews online criticizing the amount of violence and gore depicted - mostly from secular reviewers. I pray that a brief study of the brutality of the Romans in their punishment in the first century was examined by these professional "journalists" prior to their judgment. Well guess what? The Roman soldiers were brutal! They were trained professionals and they took their jobs seriously! This included those whose function was to torture. Who else could devise implements of torture that would maximize the pain while allowing the victim to remain alive?!! I don't know if they took as much joyful glee in inflicting their brutality upon others as is shown here. From accounts of the atrocities we've heard over the years of other tyrannical rulers, we can imagine that the soldiers may have indeed enjoyed the power and destruction that they were paid to wield.
   
   From the ominous, agonized atmosphere and Jesus' anguish present at the beginning of the movie in the Garden of Gethsemane to the stark loneliness depicted upon the cross at Golgotha, Gibson certainly used the images and lighting to convey a variety of human emotion and foibles. I could go on and on here, but suffice it to say that I think that the film did a masterful job of using the surroundings - down to a single drop of rain - to help communicate the message.
   
   I wept uncontrollably during the scouring scenes envisioning the physical torture and pain the Jesus endured because of me. At one point I had to close my eyes and began to just thank Him for substituting Himself for me. I have the same tearful reaction each year around Easter though when contemplating the scourging episode, now that I've seen this portrayal, maybe that thankfulness will carry throughout the year. The actual crucifixion, while painfully wrenching in its portrayal, almost came as a relief to me - knowing that His torture was almost at an end.
   
   
2. Actors/Acting
   I guess the best praise that I could give is that I did not think that they were acting. 'nuff said? The actors throughout displayed almost every emotion that a human can express: joy, agony, disgust, ambivalence, fear, remorse, forgiveness, anguish, hatred, etc. I've thought about this next statement and think that I could say that: because I already "know" the story, I could have watched the movie without the subtitles and still understood exactly what was going on throughout. At some point in the film, I actually forgot that I was reading a subtitled film. I loved hearing the names spoken in the original tongue! Every time I heard my Lord's name in the original form, Yeshua, I think that I smiled unintentionally.
   
   The woman that played Mary came across as an agonized mother who only desires to protect her beloved son. The actors playing the religious leaders meshed together well and left me feeling that they were an organized mob willing to do and say whatever necessary to do away with their problem. I loved the facial expressions by the criminal Barabbas as he was released by Pilate (and the crowd). Pilate came across as more sympathetic than I believe him to be , the disciple John as less involved and Judas as more tortured though. And Caviezel's portrayal of a Jesus who was tender, loving and strong presents, I believe, a closer depiction to the real Jesus than many of the previous movie attempts which typically came across as a meek, mild-mannered teacher.
   
   Along with the actors, I must give kudos to those behind the scenes of the film - cinematography, lighting, costumes, location, sets and especially make-up and special effects. Whoever did the effects of the post-scourging upon the human body deserves an award! I have done some study on the effects of the Roman's torture techniques on the human body and flesh, I've heard sermons on it and doctors descriptions of it. Last night I believe that I saw it! It finally hit me when Jesus said that He was thirsty, just how much bodily fluid He must have lost, both in sweat and in blood, during the ordeal.
   
   
3. Story
   Okay, I get that the passion is just about the last hours of Christ's life...but will others who are less familiar with the story get it? Gibson presents the harshest, most violent portion of the life of Jesus and does not present the "rest of the story." I understand that it is not Gibson's job to educate the viewer as to the historical and cultural background of the people and period. But as anyone attempting Biblical hermeneutics knows, the context is vital! And I feel that it is sorely lacking if this movie was meant to influence unbelievers.
   
   I found the story to be fairly accurate and faithful with the artistic license necessary for Gibson to offer 2 hours of storyline. The embellishments offered don't necessarily provide anything unbiblical although other's opinions may differ, especially with the depiction of Satan and with the predominance of Mary seemingly undergoing the same suffering and trial as Jesus. Biblically, she is not portrayed as dominantly as shown in this film.
   
   The flashbacks to other scenes of Jesus' life was a welcomed reprieve from the brutality of His present circumstances. I do question if enough of each story was presented in the flashback to either (a) explain it to an unbeliever or (b) cause an unbeliever to want to learn more about it.
   
   
4. Questions
   Did I "like" the film? No. I don't think that this is a "likeable" film. But then I do not think that there is much about the last hours of Jesus' life that was pleasant.
   
   Would I recommend this film? Yes, to anyone over the age of 13.
   
   When I got home last night, my wife asked me if I thought it would be the evangelistic tool that many have proclaimed it could be. I'm unsure. I don't know if it leaves the unbelieving viewer with enough questions about "who do you say that I am?", what did He do and did He live again.
   
   Well, maybe that's our job - to interact, ask questions, and start a dialogue that uses this movie as a jumping off point.
   
   
5. Effects
   We had about 200 members of our church in the theater. They were comprised of pastors, staff members and various ministry leaders and those very committed to furthering the Kingdom of God through our local church. At the conclusion of the film, the theater was silent. I personally did not/could not talk with anyone. I made my way out of the theater, to my car and drove home. I really didn't even talk with my wife about it much, a couple of minutes maybe, but it was hard for me to put into words what I was feeling and had just seen. Now, the next day, I can and am willing to discuss its effects upon me. Mainly it was emotional. I'm as manly a man as the next man (say that 4 times fast) but the images of my Saviour being beaten, tortured, spat upon were gut-wrenching. I winched at the sound of the whip, I cringed at the hurled insults and epithets and seeing the blood splatter from His body and later run down the cross to the ground just hit me in the pit of my stomach.
   
   < sarcasm >Thankfully I do not seem to be feeling anti-Semitic today (praise God) but maybe that's an after-effect that comes on gradually. Also, I'm not feeling anti-Roman either! < /sarcasm >
   
   I pray that I am able to glorify God by taking the questions raised by this film and pointing the questioner toward the real Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I pray also that many can see the victory of His resurrection - the EMPTY cross - rather than just His suffering on the cross.
   

As an aside, happy 6th birthday to my beautiful son Zachary Robert!

Thank you Jesus for carrying my sin upon Your shoulders to the cross!

Because He lives,
Dr. Larry
scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 10:51 AM (0) comments      

 
Blogus Interruptus

We interrupt the regularly scheduled thoughts to bring you thoughts regarding Ash Wednesday. Information provided from the Catholic Information Network.

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Ash Wednesday
by James Akin
Q: What is Ash Wednesday?
A: Ash Wednesday is the day Lent begins. It occurs forty days before Good Friday.

Q: Is Ash Wednesday based on a pagan festival?
A: Heck, no. Ash Wednesday originated in the A.D. 900s, long after Europe had been Christianized and the pagan cults stamped out.

Q: Why is it called Ash Wednesday?
A: Actually, Ash Wednesday is its colloquial name. Its official name is the Day of Ashes. It is called Ash Wednesday because, being forty days before Good Friday, it always falls on a Wednesday and it is called Ash Wednesday because on that day at church the faithful have their foreheads marked with ashes in the shape of a cross.

Q: Why do they have their foreheads marked with a cross?
A: Because in the Bible a mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person's ownership. By having their foreheads marked with the sign of a cross, this symbolizes that the person belongs to Jesus Christ, who died on a Cross.

This is in imitation of the spiritual mark or seal that is put on a Christian in baptism, when he is delivered from slavery to sin and the devil and made a slave of righteousness and Christ (Rom. 6:3-18).

It is also in imitation of the way the righteousness are described in the book of Revelation, where we read of the servants of God (the Christian faithful, as symbolized by the 144,000 male virgins):

"Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads." (Revelation 7:3)

"[The demon locust] were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads" (Revelation 9:4)

"Then I looked, and lo, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1)

This is in contrast to the followers of the beast, who have the number 666 on their foreheads or hands.

The reference to the sealing of the servants of God for their protection in Revelation is an allusion to a parallel passage in Ezekiel, where Ezekiel also sees a sealing of the servants of God for their protection:

"And the LORD said to him [one of the four cherubim], 'Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark [literally, "a tav"] upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.' And to the others he said in my hearing, 'Pass through the city after him, and smite; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.' So they began with the elders who were before the house." (Ezekiel 9:4-6)

Unfortunately, like most modern translations, the one quoted above (the Revised Standard Version, which we have been quoting thus far), is not sufficiently literal. What it actually says is to place a tav on the foreheads of the righteous inhabitants of Jerusalem. Tav is one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and in ancient script it looked like the Greek letter chi, which happens to be two crossed lines (like an "x") and which happens to be the first letter in the word "Christ" in Greek (christos). The Jewish rabbis commented on the connection between tav and chi and this is undoubtedly the mark Revelation has in mind when the servants of God are sealed in it.

The early Church Fathers seized on this tav-chi-cross-christos connection and expounded it in their homilies, seeing in Ezekiel a prophetic foreshadowing of the sealing of Christians as servants of Christ. It is also part of the background to the Catholic practice of making the sign of the cross, which in the early centuries (as can be documented from the second century on) was practiced by using one's thumb to furrow one's brow with a small sign of the cross, like Catholic do today at the reading of the Gospel during Mass.

Q: Why is the signing done with ashes?
A: Because ashes are a biblical symbol of mourning and penance. In Bible times the custom was to fast, wear sackcloth, sit in dust and ashes, and put dust and ashes on one's head. While we no longer normally wear sackcloth or sit in dust and ashes, the customs of fasting and putting ashes on one's forehead as a sign of mourning and penance have survived to this day. These are two of the key distinctives of Lent. In fact, Ash Wednesday is a day not only for putting ashes on one's head, but also a day of fasting (see below).

Q: What are some biblical examples of people putting dust and ashes on their foreheads?
A: Consider the following verses from the New International Version:

"That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head." (1 Samuel 4:12)

"On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor." (2 Samuel 1:20

"Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went." (2 Samuel 13:19)

"When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head." (2 Samuel 15:32)

Q: Is there another significance to the ashes?
A: Yes. They also symbolize death and so remind us of our mortality. Thus when the priest uses his thumb to sign one of the faithful with the ashes, he says, "Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return," which is modeled after God's address to Adam (Genesis 3:19; cf. Job 34:15, Psalms 90:3, 104:29, Ecclesiastes 3:20). This also echoes the words at a burial, "Ashes to ashes; dust to dust," which is based on God's words to Adam in Genesis 3 and Abraham's confession, "I am nothing but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). It is thus a reminder of our mortality and our need to repent before this life is over and we face our Judge.

Q: Where do the ashes used on Ash Wednesday come from?
A: They are made by burning palm fronds which have been saved from the previous year's Palm Sunday, they are then blessed by a priest -- blessed ashes having been used in God's rituals since the time of Moses (Numbers 19:9-10, 17).

Q: Why are ashes from the previous year's Palm Sunday used?
A: Because Palm Sunday was when the people rejoiced at Jesus' triumphal entrance to Jerusalem. They celebrated his arrival by waving palm fronds, little realizing that he was coming to die for their sins. By using palms from Palm Sunday, it is a reminder that we must not only rejoice of Jersus' coming but also regret the fact that our sins made it necessary for him to die for us in order to save us from hell.

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Other terms that might be interesting for you to learn more about include:
Maundy Thursday
Passion
Easter
Pentecost


Tonight I'll be going to see the "Passion of the Christ" movie with hundreds of fellow worshippers from church. I have mixed feelings. Excited about the movie, but I already get very emotional when visualizing Christ's suffering for me...should be interesting! But our family has been praying that this movie will touch countless lives causing current believers to rededicate themselves more deeply and fully to Jesus and to cause non-believers to ask deeper questions about who is this Jesus and why He would do this.


Reflecting on His glory,
Dr. Larry

scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 1:21 PM (0) comments      

 
My "theologian" rating is listed below. I find it amusing. I shall have to ponder the implications. It's funny though, one of my best friends comes out as "John Wesley"
:-P

"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."

You are Augustine! You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them. Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to igure it all out. You're also very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson


Feeling ancient but in very good company,
Dr. Larry aka "Augie" :-)

scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 3:22 PM (0) comments