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'The Passion of The Christ' - Was Mel Right?
Mar 10, 2004
JERRY WAUGH
Pastor, Northcliffe Baptist Church

With Mel Gibson's new movie now showing everywhere, all the controversial questions that preceded it can now be answered. Was it anti-Semitic? Most movie-goers would say "no." Was it too violent? Some would say "yes," and others would say "it was accurate." What age is acceptable to watch this movie? Most would agree that anyone under the age of 13 should not watch it. This past Wednesday, I took my 14-year-old to see the movie at the Beacon Theater. I would not think of taking my eight-year-old to see it.

So all the interviews and special programs have been done about the movie. Everyone from Diane Sawyer to Jay Leno has interviewed Gibson. He was on the front cover of Reader's Digest, and PAX TV broadcasted a special called "The Making of The Passion of The Christ." But there is still a question about this movie that needs to be asked — Was Mel right? Is the Jesus that Mel told about in this movie really the Son of God who suffered for our sins? Is "The Passion of The Christ" based on fact or fiction?

A man by the name of C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and who was once an agnostic, said there are only three choices we can conclude about Jesus.

Choice #1 - He was a liar.

He told people He was the Son of God and the Christ who was to take away our sins, but He was lying. It is interesting that He had perfect integrity in every other area of His life, but would lie about who He was.

Some people say they believe Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not the Son of God. But could Jesus really be a great teacher of good morals, and yet live out a lie about his own identity?

Additionally, Jesus would have had to die for His lie.

It just doesn't seem logical that someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, loved as Jesus loved, and died as Jesus died could have been a liar.

If it is improbable that Jesus was a liar, then there is a second alternative?

Choice #2 - He was a lunatic.

If Jesus wasn't lying about being the Christ, then maybe He actually thought He was the Son of God, but was mistaken? After all, it is possible to be sincere, but sincerely wrong.

In light of all we know about Jesus, the signs just aren't there to suggest that He was mentally disturbed. Is it possible that the man who spoke some of the most profound words ever recorded was actually deluded about who He was?

Was Jesus the Christ a lunatic and wrong about who He was and what He came to do? There is just no evidence of this being true.

So if Jesus was not a liar, nor a lunatic, then there is only one option left.

Choice #3 - He is the Lord.

If I cannot in my heart conclude that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic, then there is only one other choice - Jesus was exactly whom He claimed to be — the Christ, our Lord.

So was Mel's movie right? Did God's Son come to earth to die for our sins, and did He prove He was the Christ as shown in the movie's ending with Christ's resurrection from the dead? If so, that is good news, because we all need someone who can forgive us of our sins. If Mel's movie is right about Jesus, He is the only one who qualifies to do this.

Some people will conclude that the message of this movie is probably not true – What if "The Passion of The Christ" is wrong? But the more important question is — What if "The Passion of The Christ" is right? Like Pilate, we all have to deal with the question, "What shall I do with Jesus?"

For more answers to your questions about who was Jesus, you can visit http://www.passionofchrist.com. To find out how your church can use this movie as an outreach opportunity visit http://thepassionoutreach.com. For Easter sermon ideas from this movie visit http://www.sermoncentral.com.

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