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NASB | John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] gave up His spirit. |
Subject: "The Passion of the Christ" |
Bible Note: Today my wife and I viewed Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ." Mr. Gibson's unapologetic artistic expression in "The Passion" brings to my mind the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "The Word of God is like a lion -- you don't need to defend it, just turn it loose. And "turn it loose" is what Mr. Gibson did in his dramatic portrayal of this story that is foundational to the Christian faith. Taking very few and very minor liberties, the film remains by and large faithful to the biblical text. Perhaps that helps more than anything else to explain why it is so controversial among the secular and Christian liberal elements of the society. Anyone who sees the film and calls it anti-semetic or unnecessarily brutal has missed the point. The film is brutal. Mocking and spitting in one's face are brutal. Scourges are brutal. Crucifixions are brutal. The biblical text is starkly brutal. Christ suffered brutally. He died a brutal death. But it was not the Romans alone who killed Jesus. It was not the Jews alone who killed Him. It is also I, my sin, and you, your sin that put Jesus on the Cross. He voluntarily shed His precious blood and laid down his sinless life for me, for you, for all who, by the grace of God, would come to Him in faith. I was in that crowd at the foot of that Roman Cross where Jesus suffered, bled, and died, and so were you. Jesus died not by the hand of the Romans or the Jews only, but by the hand of all of us, for all have sinned. ......... "The Passion of the Christ" is unlike any other motion picture that I've ever seen -- indeed, I would submit it is unlike any other film ever made. It is an exceedingly gripping film. It grabs you from the very first minute and holds you firmly in its grip and doesn't let you go for some two hours. I urge you to see this monumental work. And to pray that God will use it to seek and save the lost. "The Passion of the Christ" tells it like it was. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "It is as it was." --Hank |