When asked if I have seen the movies “The Passion
of the Christ,” or “Son of God” I want to say, “No, I haven’t paid to watch the
torture, humiliation, and murder of my best friend and brother. But thank you
for asking.”
And I despise sermons that exploit the
agony of the crucifixion—the stripe by stripe, blow by blow, gasp by gasp
description of Roman cruelty.
First and foremost, such sermons are not
Biblical. If God had wanted Christians to be guilt-ridden by the appalling
physical aspect of Christ’s passion, you would think at least one of the four
gospel writers would have gone that direction. Instead, in regard to the actual
manner of death, we have this:
Matthew: “When they had crucified him. . .”
Mark:
“And they crucified him.”
Luke: “. . .
there they crucified him . . .”
John: “When the soldiers crucified Jesus . . .”
Second, if the point of Christ’s death
were the pain, there are hundreds, if not thousands of more dreadful ends. For
one, He could, like my own mother, live to be over 90 and die of multiple,
painful conditions that kill by inches. Or he could have simply remained on the
cross for the typical two to three days instead of dying after six hours.
I do not mean to downplay Christ’s
physical suffering, but, over the centuries, tens of thousands of human beings
have been and are being crucified.
Only one had the power to save himself
yet willingly chose to die.
Only one lived a sinless life and chose to die as a
sinner.
Only one died for me.
Only one is still living.
Good post, Becky.
ReplyDeleteI remember Bill Love telling me about preaching such a sermon when he was still a student seminarian. His homiletics professor was present. Bill waxed eloquent with graphic detail, finishing proudly his "best sermon ever". Eagerly, he waited for his professor to commend him at the church door.
Instead, his professor's only comment was, "It's not really about HOW he died, Bill, but WHY. Bill never forgot that stinging rebuke.
Thank you for the comment. Sometimes I feel like a lone voice in the wilderness, not only speaking to the void but saying things that are not supposed to be said.
ReplyDeleteHi Becky,
ReplyDeleteI don't think these are things that are not supposed to be said, but these are statements of how you feel. We all have our opinions.
I have been thinking about this post since yesterday trying to find the words to say how I feel. My mother had Rheumatoid Arthritis and suffered her whole life. She was stricken when she was 12 years old and died at 54. I know what a long term illness can do. But Mother didn't choose this life or her young death. However, our Savior who died for us had a choice and he chose to bear the humiliation and torture for us. He had to endure his Father turning his face from him. To me it is important that I watch films such as "The Passion of Christ" to be reminded of all he gave up for us willingly. Maybe everyone doesn't need to do this, but for some of us it is a reminder of the depth of our dear Savior's love for us.
Deborah, I respect your position, and cannot say it is wrong.
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