The Scandalous Cross: A Curse or a Blessing
Part One of “The Passion of the Christ – Curious? Find out more!” Series at Grace International Baptist Church, Vancouver, BC
Mel Gibson’s new movie The Passion of the Christ opened to about 3,000 screens this past Wednesday. Some here may have already seen this. Some here may want to find out more about the events that led to the Passion or try to understand it more. Some here, I am sure, are motivated now to know a bit more about the person called Jesus. I am quite sure the movie, though I have not seen it yet, does not even attempt to answer all the questions we have about Christ and His passion. It only presents Gibson’s artistic view of the final 12 hours of Jesus and what a $25 million dollar budget could do. Perhaps for some of you that’s what brought you to church, because you want to fill in the gaps. I trust that today you will leave here be a little more informed and inspired about the real story behind the Passion of the Christ.
I guess by now you’d have noticed the Passion of the Christ has got all sorts of reviews and reactions. Some negative and some positive but all are agreed the movie is violent and gory and a truly excruciating experience to watch. Let me share with you what I have come across as Gibson’s movie is reviewed across this continent.
Some in the media are, as reuters.com noted “slamming it for excessive violence, questioning its spiritual message and wondering aloud if it is anti-Semitic.”
This past Wednesday morning, I heard on radio on 106.5 FM, of one person who came out of the theater laughing. He said he had to keep his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He also said it is the most preposterous thing he has ever seen.
This was the New York Post critic Lou Lumenick’s reaction to the film "an impressive, ultra-violent -- and deeply troubling -- take on Jesus’ final hours." At the same time, the same paper, New York Post, as was noted by reuters.com “ran a front-page story saying that audience reaction was extremely positive with viewers weeping and declaring they would never be the same.”
Because of the unrelenting violence of the cross, depicted in the movie, many film critics are uneasy. One even used terms such as “a work of fundamentalist pornography” as voiced by The Toronto Star review of the movie.
Roger Ebert – film critic in Chicago said: “What Gibson has provided for me, for the first time in my life, is a visceral idea of what the Passion consisted of. That his film is superficial in terms of the surrounding message — that we get only a few passing references to the teachings of Jesus — is, I suppose, not the point. ... Is the film ’good’ or ’great?’ I imagine each person’s reaction (visceral, theological, artistic) will differ. I was moved by the depth of feeling, by the skill of the actors and technicians, by their desire to see this project through no matter what."
Scott D. Campbell writing in The Globe and Mail (2/26/04) had this to say:
I have been following the controversy over Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ with interest, so I was anxious to read Rick Groen’s review of the film (The Greatest Gory Ever Told -- Feb. 25). Mr. Gibson’s stated goal was to provide an accurate film depiction of the last days of Christ’s life based on the Biblical account. That is why Mr. Groen’s criticisms of the film seem so strange.
Most of the things on Mr. Groen’s "wish list" didn’t happen according to the Biblical account. He faults Mr. Gibson for the manner in which he depicts Jesus as being divine -- which is how the Bible portrays Him. He faults Mr. Gibson for portraying Christ’s beatings and Crucifixion as violent and gory -- which is no doubt accurate. He faults Mr. Gibson for not portraying Christ as weak and vacillating and struggling with His identity -- which is not the Christ of the Bible.
After reading the review, I came to the conclusion that, as with most works of literature adapted to the big screen, if you don’t like the book you probably won’t like the movie either.
I think that’s the fairest assumption to make, people who don’t like the message of the Bible that God is love, will, in most parts, not approve of the movie. Contrast that to well-known Christians such as Billy Graham who said, “I was moved to tears” or James Dobson who remarked, “It is deeply moving, powerful and disturbing. A film that must be seen,” or Chuck Swindoll who responded, “I just love Christ so much more after the film.”
What do you make of this? There is no doubt the cross of Christ elicits all sorts of responses. Controversy surrounds it and I am sure it will be around once this message is done.
A. THE CURSE OF THE CROSS
To understand why there is such a reaction of revulsion for some and not something of beauty, let’s refer to the Bible. So turn to the Bible with me to Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (NIV):
22 If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, 23 you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under GOD’S CURSE. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (NIV)
As we read this ancient text composed, as it believed by Moses, we realize part of the reason why there is such a strong reaction among the Jews. Even from God’s perspective, it is not a thing of beauty rather it is a thing of utter revulsion and desecration. For it is written in the Scriptures “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” Jesus was hung on a tree, that wooden cross of punishment, dying a criminal’s death and all it says is "shame" "guilt" "pain" and mostly it says "failure.” To deserve a death that gruesome, one has to commit a capital offense. It is not beautiful, it is not lovely, certainly a justifiably “R” rated type stuff. It is an ugly thing, a thing that a holy God cannot bear to see.
It is a horrifying image, to be hung up on a tree. It is a scandalous thing, worse than our Prime Minister Martin’s nightmarish sponsorship scandal. It does not surprise me at all that Jesus’ hanging on the cross is such a taboo thing to anyone brought up as a Jew. Hanging on a tree – that’s desecration, that’s a cursed thing, a thing of horror that the Romans fashioned and used to quiet down any thoughts of revolting against them. And it is refreshing to note that the Bible does not try to hide the scandal of being hung on a tree like the fiascos of our Enron scandal or the Watergate scandal or the Lewinsky and Clinton affair.
Christianity has never sought to cover this scandal up. Writing in 1984, long before Gibson’s movie was even an idea, Michael Green (1984,p.25) in his book The Empty Cross of Jesus remarked, “What an astonishing way for a religion to start –founded on a cross! Imagine the incongruity these days of starting a religious movement based on a hangman’s noose”. Isn’t that right? Undeniably astonishing, what a crazy way to introduce people to faith in God, through an instrument of bloody torture and death. Who would think to start off this way? No wonder some laugh. No wonder some see it as sickening senseless violence. No wonder some see it as dividing rather than unifying. For the smell of death just lingers over it.
As John Stott (1992,p.62) The Contemporary Christian observed long before the Passion of the Christ movie became Mel Gibson’s project: “To the unbelieving Jew it was INCONCEIVABLE that the Messiah should die ‘on a tree’, that is, under the curse of God. To the unbelieving Gentile it was LUDICROUS to suppose that a god, one of the immortals, should die.” The mangled body of a crucified man as the source of inspiration? Ludicrous? It seems so. Again, no wonder some laughed, no wonder some cursed it, no wonder it is not fully embraced by all. Accordingly, it is indeed a cursed thing for Jesus to on the cross. It still has that same effect today!
B. THE CURSE THAT BECAME A BLESSING
To put a biblical perspective on this whole cursed thing, we need to get back to why this all happened. You see, it was God’s will. Here we have a God who cannot bear the thought of sin. His glory is diminished if He’d allowed sin into heaven. He cannot allow it. His glory, which the Bible portrays as pure light, vaporizes every hint of darkness. His justice demands that sin must be punished, just as much as our own brand of justice cry out for vengeance every time someone violently assaults or kills or rapes an innocent child.
In the movies, every time a hero destroys the enemy, we applaud. As in the Lord of the Rings trilogy Legolas, Gimli Aragorn, Frodo must win against all odds and when they do prevail, we cheer! Good win over evil! Yeah! Similarly, God roots for His good, His glory. Evil and sin must be defeated for the glory of God demands it! He does not want it to be diminished; His glory cannot be a flawed glory. The Bible further tells us that God is jealous for the glory of His name, yet He loves the people who reviled Him, who cheapened His name, who despised His glory, so what can He do that will be just and does not at all diminish the seriousness of sin? Through an OT prophet we hear these words:
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 (NIV)
Who is it that killed Jesus? This is an excerpt from USA Today (2/26/04):
“Controversy continued Wednesday when Lovingway United Pentecostal Church in Denver put up a marquee sign outside the church saying, ‘Jews killed the Lord Jesus.’ The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement of outrage after asking the pastor to remove the sign. He refused.” This is dumb! I don’t know who this pastor is, but whoever this guy is, he does not speak for Christ. Why? Let’s look at the Bible closely, shall we?
It seems the Bible claims it was God the Father, for He offered up His Son whom He loved with utter abandon, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all”. Was it a race of people that laid on Christ the burden of our sin? Does the Bible not say “the LORD has laid on him”? Isaiah 53:10 (NIV) further develops this “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” Does the Bible say it was the Jews’ will to crush Jesus? Or does it say the Lord’s will?
Charles Coloson in his breakpoint article on Feb.12, 2004, has a good grasp of this issue when he said: "The Jews didn’t cause the death of Jesus, nor did the Romans. They were merely instruments carrying out what God had decreed. He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so that the sins of mankind might be forgiven. And those who take Scripture seriously have always known who killed Jesus: You and I and all other sinful human beings did so."
That scandalous cross was no surprise to Jesus. It did not catch God the Father napping at all. God set it up for a purpose. It was a sovereign choice of His to turn what is blatantly evil, that is the death of an innocent man, Jesus, into something good. It is through the cross, through the Passion of the Christ, we see God resolving the tension of how a holy God can redeem a fallen creation who chose to have nothing to do with Him. He loves people, God is love, and yet He cannot allow sin in His presence. As a result, He chose to do this, it was His will, “he decided to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault…by sending Jesus to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!” (Ephesians 1:4-5, LB). Someone had to pay the price of justice, and only one sacrifice was good enough.
This is important for us all to grasp. God made a choice, and it was a bloody deadly choice, which eventually resulted in Him maintaining His integrity as a holy and just God, and yet demonstrating the fullness of love for a lost world. Through Christ’s death, which God purposely planned for and made happened, people all over the world can have a hope for a clean record to start over, a new beginning. The passion or suffering of God’s Son is a statement from heaven that says God wants us in a holy heaven with Him, even when sin appears dominant in our world, crushing the people He loved. The sickness of our sin, violence and gore that horrified some film critics, I assure you, cannot match the agony of God, when He offered the Son He loved to die for us. But to protect His holy reputation, God cannot act as if there is no such thing as sin. As John Piper (The Pleasures of God, 1991,p.165) noted, “It cannot be simply be swept under the rug of the universe, as though nothing awesome were at stake. The judge of the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25). He will judge the world in righteousness (Psalm 9:8).” So he made the choice, the choice to love, to redeem rather than have us lost without a shred of hope.
If we were to go to God based on just our imperfect merits, we would be vaporized by His piercing pure light, BUT as Ephesians 1:11 (LB) says “because of what Christ has done we have become gifts to God that HE DELIGHTS IN.” Catch that? Gifts that God delights in!!! Instead of a stench to God we are gifts to God which He has lots of fun with! An infinite and personal eternal being says people are worth being made holy by His Son’s sacrifice. He has pleasure in doing this for us. And He will not let sin get in the way of that pleasure, so Jesus died, to guarantee that and therefore heaven is accessible to all who have faith in Him.
C. WHAT THE SCANDALOUS CROSS IS SAYING
1. THE CROSS SAYS GOD WILL DO WHAT IT TAKES TO LOVE
You and I are no longer something to be discarded like yesterday’s news, but someone whom God will go the wall for, and go through hell for. God looked at us, the mess that humanity is in, the stink that we have chosen to live in, the corruption that we find our selves in and He knows we are in deep trouble, we can’t even help ourselves, we are in definite hot water. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” the Bible declares. Again, let me pose to you this question - What can a loving and holy God do? Let me share with you this illustration:
A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and said, "It’s logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was.
A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit."
A fire-and-brimstone preacher said, "You deserve your pit."
A Christian Scientist observed, "The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist noted, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
A self-esteem therapist said, "Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist said, "Things could be worse."
A pessimist claimed, "Things will get worse."
"Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit."
I think this is precisely what Jesus did on the cross. He did not just theorized or moralized or condemned or gave us tips on how to get ourselves out of the pit or reported it like some neutral news reporter or empathized with our condition. But Jesus saw us drowning in sin and took us by His own hand, by His sacrifice on that cursed tree, to lift us out of the pit! I am so glad He did not say, “go figure it out on your own.”
What the Passion is saying to us is pointed out by R.C. Sproul’s little story as noted in his book “One Holy Passion” - Karl Barth, the famous German theologian, during a visit to the US, was reportedly asked this question: “Dr. Barth, what is the single most important truth you have learned as a theologian?”
Barth apparently replied “The most important thing I have learned is this: ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
R.C. Sproul is right on the money when he said that this is the truth that sets Christianity apart from mere abstract philosophy. Because the heart of a faith commitment in Christianity is not adherence to a set of rules or a system of belief but at its core is the revelation of a deeply held commitment of a loving personal God to people – Jesus loves me this I know! Is the cross a curse or a blessing then to you?
2. THE CROSS IS SCANDALOUS!
Even to God it is a scandalous thing! So awful it was, that God the Father turned away from His Son, that Jesus cried “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
The Bible did say, “The message about the cross doesn’t make any sense to lost people.” (1 Corinthians 1:18a, CEV) The passion of the Christ remains scandalous. It will divide people. It just confounds people; some will react by laughing it off, just to dismiss it or some will get furious calling it as hate, a totally unwise thing to do in a politically correct world. The Bible understands this (1 Corinthians 1:22-23, CEV): “Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problem with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.”
With this comes the inevitable result - division. Hence it is not surprising that some in media see Gibson’s movie as divisive. The cross it seems forces us to make a selection: Either there is acceptance of the fact Jesus did die on the cross to bring us peace with God or He did not. The cross forces us to answer to this – did He or did He not die for the sins of the world? Or is God a sadist, who enjoyed the publicly humiliating and painful cross experience? It is also not surprising then to find that Jesus Himself noted that His coming could bring tension among family members, as Matthew 10:32-39 (NIV) recorded Jesus’ words:
32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" ’a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. 37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Loyalty to Jesus will have the effect of scandal, divisive - it can be dangerous, it can be a cursed thing or a real blessing but hold on, that’s not the end of the story!
3. THE CROSS IS GOD’S POWER AT WORK
“The message about the cross doesn’t make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is GOD’S POWER AT WORK.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, CEV)
The cross demonstrates that God did not abandon our world to evil or gave up on people but sought to redeem it. His method of redemption speaks of His undeniable passion to relate to us as people. To God we are not mere things or toys. The pain Jesus suffered is shocking and very real but it calls us to remember He did it all for us. He came and felt us, lived like us, understanding personally our faults, temptations and sufferings and still chose to go through hellish torture to offer to us a ray of hope in a fallen world. What appears to be foolishness is God’s power at work to tell us the story that God is indeed all about love! Ultimately, the power of God’s love is displayed.
Piper stated: “Something happened in the death of Jesus that is so stupendous that it now serves as the basis for the acquittal of millions and millions of sinners who trust Christ.” What was it that happened? Romans 3:25 (LB) puts it clearly “For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us.” There are no more hostilities in our relationship with God. It is by faith in him that we could come to God. The question that remains is - do we believe it? You can make the choice for you – that scandalous cross of Christ - will it be a curse or a blessing to you?
D. BENEFITS OF THE SCANDALOUS CROSS
Let me summarize for you at least 4 benefits of the passion of the Christ:
1. FREEDOM IN CHRIST: God has already judged sin through Christ so you and I can be free from the guilty verdict of sin.
Boldly, the Bible proclaims this; “So Christ has made us free” (Galatians 5:1). As is written in the Bible today, those who faith in Jesus “are counting on Christ’s death to clear away our sins and make us right with God” (Galatians 5:5). Therefore, I ask you, do you have this freedom in you or are you saddled with guilt, nervous about your stand with God, immobilized by fear due to a guilty conscience? Will you let trust Jesus to take away your sin? The choice is up to you.
The Bible makes it clear that God will receive us, though guilty, “yet now God declares us ‘not guilty’ of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins” (Rom.3:24, LB). The question is - do you then trust Jesus to take away our sins?
2. CONNECTION TO GOD: God makes it clear that real spirituality is found through Christ’s death.
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18.
There is no need to rely on our own some misty secret experience, emotion, feelings, someone’s opinion, tradition, religion, or some method of meditation, the substance of our faith lies in reality of the very real Passion of the Christ and His resurrection. There is no need to drum up some sort new philosophy or to elect a new government to ensure life will be great; for the substance of our faith is the person of Jesus Christ who died for us. There are no more taxes to be paid, no hiking of tuition fees, no more insurance premiums, no more filling out more application forms, no more bureaucracy, no more uncertainty about your credit rating, for the substance of our faith is the One who loved us and gave His life for us. The debt is paid! The way is cleared!
3. ASSURANCE THAT GOD LOVES ME: Through Christ, we are no longer muddy about God’s intention.
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into this wicked world to bring us eternal life through His death.” (1 John 4:9, LB). The passion of the Christ says very clearly and loudly – LOVE. Do you want it?
4. CONFIDENCE IN LIFE: Through Christ, our fears and superstitions are stripped away.
Perhaps some here are terrified about the unknown. Is there life after death? If I go to the 13th floor will I get bad luck and die? Will I get bad luck if I do this or don’t do that? Forget about it now! We have a God whom the Bible says because of His experience on the cross “knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us” (Hebrews 2:18, LB). We’ve got a God who goes to bat for us! Do you have this confidence?
Prayer:
I’m going to pray a prayer and if today you would say, "Yes, I accept who Jesus is and what He has done for me," then I invite you to pray this prayer in your heart. God will hear you. Say , "Dear God, I believe that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins so I can be forgiven. I’m sorry for my sins. I want to live the rest of my life the way You want me to. Please put Your Spirit in my life to direct me. Amen."
