Upon reading Gabe Smith’s review of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” in Feb. 27’s Reflector, I was saddened to see that he had missed out on the meaning behind the movie.
This movie is not meant to capture all of the awards. Rather, it was produced to show a realistic depiction of Christ’s last 12 hours, while staying as true as possible to the four Gospels of the New Testament.
Never before had anyone dared to show Christ in this fashion, but I feel that it needed to be done. Too often do we take for granted what he went through for us.
It doesn’t matter how many crosses you see on a regular basis, it is still very easy to overlook the torture and pain that he had to endure.
That is the point of the film: to remind us of the horrid torture and immense pain he had to endure for us, whether we are a Jew or Gentile. It is not meant to be a theatrical masterpiece.
In fact, it is hard to take God and make him pleasing to Hollywood, especially since our culture favors so many things that go against his teachings and wishes for us.
Personally, I find this movie an inspiration not to fight back, and instead, take what life throws at me and make the best of it. I know I had a tear running down my face a few times during the movie, and I haven’t cried since my grandmother died six years ago.
I don’t know if Smith noticed, but not once did Jesus fight back or run away. He knew it was God’s will, so he took what came and endured it to his best ability.
Why? He knew that God would help him through. He got Simon to help carry the cross. He knew that the reward-opening the gates to Paradise for us-would be great.
Of course, I understand that it is hard to please everyone with a movie like this, but as I see it, the meaning behind Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is obvious and applies to absolutely everyone, no matter their beliefs.
Jesus Christ followed God’s will, not his own, and endured serious pain and humiliation without fighting back, in order to give us a chance at eternal Paradise.
There is so much to learn from this film. All you have to do is go with an open mind and pay attention to everything that happens. As Claudia tells Pontius Pilate in the movie, “How can you hear the truth if you do not listen?”
Scott Thomas is a sophomore general business administration major.