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Resources
& Links > Bible Studies > Evangelism and
Witnessing
Evangelism and Witnessing
Symbolism behind "The Passion of the Christ"
by Pastor Mason Okubo
This movie used a lot of symbolism to make a point.
There was something for the new believer as well as the mature
Christian. However, we must be careful for our understanding of Christ
can be affected by such imagery. Therefore it is good to know the
symbolism that is being presented, in particular, "what is biblical and
what is not."
Awesome set of flashbacks, tying His Passion to His
teaching:
- Peter denies Him three times;
Peter vows allegiance unto death.
- As nails penetrate Christs palms,
Jesus saying, "I am the way, the truth and the life."
- The Via Dolorosa (His humiliating walk to Golgotha,
carrying His cross, while people jeer Him);
His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
- The removal of Christ's robe at Golgotha;
the unwrapping of the bread during the Last Supper ("This is my body,
which is broken for you").
- Jesus is speaking to His disciples preparing them for
the crucifixion and the coming of the Holy Spirit;
The Holy Spirit makes an appearance in the form of a dove just before
Jesus' torture begins. He is in control of the situation.
Wasn't quite sure about the following flashbacks:
- At Jesus' arrest He sees a carpenter plying His trade;
recalls carefree days of crafting furniture in Nazareth.
- Pilate's water bowl;
the Lord washing His disciples' feet in the upper room.
These are non-biblical imagery - cinematic license or
derived from Roman Catholic tradition:
- Jesus crushing the snake's head is in reference to
Genesis 3:15, but was not mentioned in the New Testament accounts of
His suffering at the Mount of Olives/Garden of Gethsemane. FYI, some
minority Roman Catholic scholars have said that Gen 3:15 refers to
Mary, the mother of Jesus, crushing the serpent's head.
- Satan and demons - Satan (the pale cloaked figure)
attempts to convince Christ to surrender His mission (in the garden of
Gethsemane, His whipping, etc.). He/she also looks on as Judas slowly
succumbs to the temptation of suicide. Judas is tortured by demons
disguised as children. Satan holding a demon "baby" was suggested to be
a parody of the Madonna and child? In the pit of hell, Satan screams
when Jesus dies, presumably because of his failure to tempt Jesus into
failing God's mission of salvation.
- Though the presence of Satan in the Passion story is
non-biblical (and in error: e.g. it was an angel who was with Jesus in
the garden of Gethsemane, not Satan; Luke 22:43) this imagery disproves
anti-Semitism accusations. It is the forces of Satan against Jesus.
- A huge raven flies down and pecks the eye out of the
faithless thief at the cross.
- Pilate's wife brings linens to Jesus' mother and Mary
Magdelene so that they can wipe up His blood.
- Saint Veronica gives Jesus a cloth to wipe His face.
The imprint became a "relic" of the crucifixion. (Note: this is not the
Shroud of Turin which was a full body imprint of a crucified man.)
- A flashback shows Mary Magdelene to be "the woman
caught in adultery" (Luke 7:36-50; "he who has no sin cast the first
stone"). They are not the same person. Mary Magdelene is the woman
possessed by seven demons (John 20:11-18). It is Pope St. Gregory the
Great in the 6th century who combines these two women, and also Mary of
Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42) into one
person. Roman Catholics have continued this interpretation. Eastern
Orthodox have kept them separate. (Remember it is not until 1054 A.D.
that the church splits into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox). Of
the early church fathers, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St.
Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas remained undecided.
- Jesus is knocked over a wall where he dangles by His
iron shackles.
- A Roman officer stops the scourging to keep guards
from killing Jesus.
- Judas takes a rope from a putrefying animal carcass
and uses it to hang himself.
Sources
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