The Day of Our Victory

Pastor Jeanne Miller

  A couple of weeks ago Pastor Bob and I went to see “The Passion of Jesus Christ” so we could see for ourselves what all the controversy was about.  I’m still not sure what all of the media hype was based on.  It tells part of the gospel message fairly accurately.  There certainly were some “creative” touches which had nothing to do with reality, but did anyone ever see the “The Ten Commandments”?  Really! 

 You hear all about the violence of this movie but in actuality, crucifixion was probably the cruelest method of death used during the Roman rule.  Between the 39 stripes and the crucifixion, the movie was tame in comparison to the truth!   The wonder of it all is that Jesus did not die from loss of blood and shock before He ever made it to the cross.  From my study of what 39 stripes entails, the movie did not show as much blood and gore as actually occurred.  What Jesus went through was truly horrible.  For many years the church has looked at it from a very sanitized perspective—the truth being too horrible to think about.  I won’t go into exactly what occurs in the body during a crucifixion but the body breaks down in many different ways until the heart bursts, lungs fill with fluid and the person dies. 

 Anyone who knows me realizes what a staunch supporter of Israel I am and a strong proponent of the Israelis having their land, all of it, as a sovereign Israel.  That being said, I cannot see how the movie promotes anti-Semitism for any Christian who is a student of the Word.  I have always been taught in conjunction with the Bible that Jesus came to this earth for one reason only and that was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the whole world.  When you truly believe this, it doesn’t really matter who ended up doing the deed: the Jews, the Romans, or someone else.  It was supposed to happen and nothing could have stopped it and Jesus wouldn’t have wanted it to be stopped.  Remember He could have stopped it Himself at any time, contrary to what the movie depicted.  He chose not to stop it but to finish what He intended to do from the beginning.  How many prophecies are there in the Old Testament concerning His death and the horror of it?  God the Father and Jesus knew this was what was going to happen before Jesus agreed to come to earth.  The only one who was caught unawares was satan.

 One major fallacy in the movie was the inference that satan had any major hand in it.  He stirred up the people to ask for Jesus’ death but other than that he made the biggest mistake of his existence—he allowed Jesus to die which in effect did away with his rule and dominion on this earth.  In I Corinthians 2:8 the Bible says if satan had known what he was doing he wouldn’t have done it!!  The moment Jesus died He was in a position to do away with satan’s authority and to take back what Adam had given up, and He did it.  The resurrection proves that all power and authority were taken back and later given to everyone who believes in Jesus.  Hallelujah!!  Whoever set the direction of the movie has not been taught that satan is a defeated foe, that he is under our feet and that we have total dominion over him if we choose to exercise it. 

 For all of those who saw the movie, at one point when satan shows up holding the demon baby I was so taken aback that I actually started laughing before I could stop myself.  It was too ludicrous even for poetic license.  Unfortunately no one else was laughing.  The problem here was that the movie made the enemy bigger than what he is for Christians and probably ended up putting fear into some who saw it and don’t have a good knowledge of the subject.  Since the movie didn’t go into Jesus’ victory over sin and death at all, it leaves you feeling, and I do mean feeling, a bit down and surrounded by religious spirits. 

 With Resurrection Day being celebrated this month, we do need to look closely at just how great a price Jesus paid for our salvation.  It truly was a price we could never pay on many different levels.  But then we need to look at what that price was meant to bring into the lives of all those who accept Him as Lord and Savior.  Every time I think of what Jesus went through for me, I make a new commitment to partake of the fullness of salvation and to appropriate into my life everything He won on the cross, not to fall short in any area because of the great sacrifice He made.  The Bible says healing belongs to me because of His stripes (I Peter 2:24).  And now many more people know what those stripes looked like.  The Bible says that He came that I might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10).  The Bible says that He is my Shepherd and because of that I shall not want (lack). (Psalm 23:1) My every need is met and I am determined to live that life.  In my heart I grieve every time I see Christians living so far beneath what was won for them on the cross.  The sacrifice was just too great.

 So what do I say about the movie?  It wasn’t perfect but what is?  I believe it’s causing a lot of people to seriously consider Jesus, the cross and His purpose in coming to earth and that is very good.  And I would recommend that all Christians see it so they have more knowledge of what Jesus went through for each of them.  This knowledge can help them tremendously when they share the gospel with others.  However, when you leave the theater concentrate on the victory that was won and you’ll leave knowing that Jesus thought it was worth every pain and sorrow He bore to bring salvation to you.
 

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