[TruthTalk] The passion of Christ

[Terry Clifton]

Went to the movies today for the first time in about twenty-five years.  My wife and I saw "The passion of Christ".  The first few minutes were a turn off because I had understood that the script was true to the Gospels, and right away it was evident that several artistic liberties had been taken.  As Jesus is praying in the garden and his companions are sleeping, the camera pans to Jesus praying, then pans toward the sky and shows a full moon.  This happens twice in short order, Jesus praying while looking toward the full moon, making me wonder how the full moon figured in the story.  As He finishes praying, a large snake crawls up to him and He stomps on it's head.  At that point, I was ready to walk out, but I am glad I stayed.  The arrest, trial and the cross followed in such graphic detail that it was overwhelming.  It made me realize that what we can picture from skimming through ten minutes of reading the Bible or forty minutes of listening to a preacher could never give as stark a picture as that on the screen.  At some point, watching the torture that Jesus endured, the thought came to me that "This is how much God hates sin"  Rather than lower His standards for entrance into the Kingdom, He planned for His own Son to suffer so terribly.   My next thought was that "This goes far beyond my definition of love"  Only God could love that much and only God could make such a sacrifice." I came out of that movie with a new view.  I now see sin more clearly than ever before, and the things that were once fun and exciting are now so ugly.  The price  He paid for the fun I had was way too high.  The suffering was too much.  None of us are worth it. See the movie.  You will understand better than you have ever understood before. Terry