Thoughts from The Passion

We went to see The Passion on Saturday, and I've been reflecting on it since.

Many people have written of its power. I found it true to the Gospels. There are some things which are not explicitly in the Gospel accounts (e.g., Salome wiping the face of Jesus, the flashback of Jesus playfully splashing water on his mother), but they are not inconsistent and do not change the story.

I don't want to repeat what others have written. Let me offer two observations I have not seen or heard elsewhere.

First, the films' creators get Mary right in an important way -- she clearly understands what's going on and that it must go on. She doesn't have prescience to know the full reasons for the Passion and Resurrection, but she understands that God is sovereign over this. This is her strength.

Second, consider what a shock it must have been for John and the others who witnessed the crucifixion to see the resurrected Jesus. When they last saw him he was unrecognizably battered and ravaged (fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah). And then he is standing among them in the upper room, whole again. This is a wonderful picture of how God's power, the power of the Gospel, transforms us from sin-eaten to justified-in-Christ. The movie helps us get a visceral picture of that contrast.

Blessed be the Lord, our sovereign King, who died for us while we yet sinners.