Passion of the Christ
The movie “The Passion of the Christ” has generated all sorts of discussion in the media, in mainstream society and in churches
• If nothing else it has forced people to once again confront Pilate’s question, “What do you want me to do with this man Jesus?
• So today we are going to talk about one of the issues raised by the release of the movie
Who has seen the movie?
• What did you think? Impressions?
• It seems one of the impressions people have come away with is the level of violence portrayed in the movie
• Well here’s a newsflash. The reality was worse then the movie
• Isaiah 52:14 (NLT) Many were amazed when they saw him —beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person.
• I don’t particularly want to dwell on the violence but I would like to ask this question
Why do you think Jesus chose to die such a gruesome, horrible death?
• Just take a moment to discuss this with a couple of others and see what reasons you come up with
1. To show us how much He loves us
• Let me ask you, if your parents really wanted you to know that they loved you, what would they need to do to show it?
• Think back to when you were a kid for a moment
• What about if you had been really, really bad and you deserved the biggest whooping of all time, and your dad goes to get his big stick but when it comes back, he says to you, instead of you receiving this punishment, I’m going to take it for you
• Well that’s exactly what Jesus has done for you and me
• We deserved to suffer the punishment of the cross, but Jesus comes along and says, “I’m going to suffer it for you”
THE WHIPPING
There was a school with a class of students that no teacher had been able to handle. Two or three teachers had been run off from this school in one year by the unruly students. A young man, just out of college, heard about the class and applied to the school. The principal asked the young man, "Do you know what you are asking for? No one else has been able to handle these students. You are just asking for a terrible beating." After a few moments of silent prayer, the young man looked at the principal and said, "Sir, with your consent I accept the challenge. Just give me a trial basis."
The next morning the young man stood before the class. He said to the class, "Young people, I came here today to conduct school. But I realize I can’t do it by myself. I must have your help. "One big boy, they called Big Tom, in the back of the room whispered to his buddies, "I won’t need any help. I can lick that little bird all by myself."
The young teacher told the class that if they were to have school, there would have to be some rules to go by. But he also added that he would allow the students to make up the rules and that he would list them on the blackboard. This was certainly different, the students thought! One young man suggested "NO STEALING." Another one shouted "BE ON TIME FOR CLASS." Pretty soon they had "10" rules listed on the board. The teacher then asked the class what the punishment should be for breaking these rules. "Rules are no good unless they are enforced," he said. Someone in the class suggested that if the rules were broken, they should receive "10" licks with a rod across their back with their coat off. The teacher thought that this was pretty harsh, so he asked the class if they would stand by this punishment. The class agreed.
Everything went along pretty good for two or three days. Then Big Tom came in one day very upset. He declared that someone had stolen his lunch. After talking with the students, they came to the conclusion that little Timmy had
stolen Big Tom’s lunch. Someone had seen little Timmy with Big Tom’s lunch! The teacher called little Timmy up to the front of the room. Little Timmy admitted he had taken Big Tom’s lunch. So the teacher asked him, "Do you know what the punishment is? Little Timmy nodded that he did. "You must remove your coat," the teacher instructed.
The little fellow had come with a great big coat on. Little Timmy said to the teacher, "I am guilty and I am willing to take my punishment, but please don’t make me take off my coat." The teacher reminded little Timmy of the rules and punishments and again told him he must remove his coat and take his punishment like a man. The little fellow started to unbutton that old coat. As he did so, the teacher saw he did not have a shirt on under the coat. And even worse, he saw a frail and bony frame hidden beneath that coat.
The teacher asked little Timmy why he had come to school without a shirt on. Little Timmy replied, "My daddy’s dead and my mother is very poor. I don’t have but one shirt, and my mother is washing it today. I wore my big brother’s coat so that I could keep warm." That young teacher stood and looked at the frail back with the spine protruding against the skin, and his ribs sticking out. He wondered how he could lay a rod on that little back without even a shirt on. Still, he knew he must enforce the punishment or the children would not obey the rules. So he drew back to strike little Timmy.
Just then Big Tom stood up and came down the aisle. He asked, "Is there anything that says that I can’t take little Timmy’s whipping for him?" The teacher thought about it and agreed. With that Big Tom ripped his coat off and
stooped and stood over little Timmy at the desk. Hesitatingly the teacher began to lay the rod on that big back. But for some strange reason after only five licks that old rod just broke in half.
The young teacher buried his face in his hands and began to sob. He heard a commotion and looked up to find not one dry eye in the room. Little Timmy had turned and grabbed Big Tom around the neck apologizing to him for stealing his lunch. Little Timmy begged Big Tom to forgive him. He told Big Tom that he would love him till the day he died for taking his whipping for him.
Who are we in this Story? Timmy
Who is Jesus in this story? Big Tom
• Our sins, those little lies we tell, cheating on our taxes, homework, not doing what our parents ask us to, swearing, our sexual sins, are so bad in God’s eyes that we deserve to die for committing them
• But God loves us so much, He says, like Big Tom did, I’m going to suffer this punishment for you
• And just like Timmy was grateful to Big Tom for taking his punishment, God wants us to be grateful to Him for Jesus taking our punishment
• So the first reason Jesus chose to die such a gruesome horrible death is to prove the depth of his love for us
2. To impress on us the full consequences of sin
• Sin in God’s eyes is hideous, it is revolting, it is repugnant
• Its too bad we humans and especially we Christians don’t have the same repugnancy towards it
• And to show us how much God hates sin he allowed his Son to die a hideous, revolting and repugnant death
• In the passion of the cross we witness the hideous culmination of the ugliness of sin in all its gruesome details – we see human beings acting like animals, laughing while they tear another human being apart
• Those little sins you and I commit without much thought given to them all end up in one place – the hideous spectacle of Jesus on the cross
3. To correct every injustice
• How many parents have heard their kids say, “It’s not fair?”
• Let me tell you something, that is, if you haven’t already learnt this lesson, “Life is not fair”
• Life is full of injustices
• Is it fair that we suffer today because of Adam’s sin?
• Is it fair that Abel died because of Cain’s rejection?
• Is it fair that Joseph spent 14 years rotting in an Egyptian jail?
• Is it fair that Jonathan was rejected from being king over Israel because of his father’s sin?
• Is it fair that Uzzah died for trying to protect the ark?
• We all have our own stories of injustice
o Steve Martin knew this when he joked, “I was born a poor black child”
o It’s not fair that I have cancer! Why me God?
o It’s not fair that I was a rape victim
o Its not fair that I was dragged from my peaceful village in Africa to serve white masters a continent away
o Its not fair that I had both arms blown off by a malfunctioning smart bomb
o It’s not fair I was born with curly hair!
o It’s not fair that you didn’t give me a car on my 18th birthday
o Its not fair that I was born into this church – why not the big church down the road
o We all have our pet injustices we nurse along
Well before we all start feeling too sorry for ourselves, let me ask you this question? What is the greatest act of injustice that has ever been committed?
• The perfect Son of God being saddled with the injustice of the cross
• The whole event had unfair written all over it, the jealously of the religious leaders, the kangaroo court, the brutality - the human rights commission would have had a field day
• And how about this for a dumb choice – Jesus chose to place himself in the most unfair situation the world has ever seen
• He chose the time and place and he chose the method of death
• Unlike you and I who work like crazy to improve our situation, better home, better job, better car, better wife, better church
• Instead Jesus settled for a stable, he took the blue collar job, he rode on a donkey, he chose to be single, he chose the little church with no building, full of rough fisherman, tax collectors and prostitutes, and He chose to serve rather than be served
• Jesus chose to be born “the poor black child”
• So in the brutality and the injustice of the cross Jesus not only absorbed every sin ever committed, but every injustice that was ever committed and by doing so made everything right again
• He made up for Abel’s injustice, Joseph’s, Jonathan’s, Uzzah’s, the African slave, the rape victim, the curly hair, the missed birthday present
• Every injustice the world has ever seen is made right in the “passion” or the suffering of Jesus – He absorbed all those things so we could have a new start
• We are no longer victims, we are born again, we are a new creation, we are sons of God
So let me ask the question, do you want to live in a fair world? Careful now, you may want to think about this one
• Is it fair that you and I should live because Jesus died for us? No
• You see, if you and I insist on a fair world where would we end up? Dead in our sins
• Because there is nothing fair about Jesus dying for yours and my sins
• The injustices we complain about are minor compared to the injustice Jesus suffered
• In his passion, he absorbed every injustice ever committed
• So we can take the injustices we suffer and lay them boldly at the foot of the cross – they are Christ’s worry just as our sins are Christ’s worry
• That’s Jesus’ job – let him worry about them, we are not equipped to do so
• He came to set us free – to set at liberty those who are oppressed
• Luke 4:18 (NKJV)“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed
The gruesome horrible death Jesus endured only takes on meaning when we look at it in the context of what He was trying to achieve
• He loves us so much He was willing to step in and take our punishment for us
• He wants us to appreciate the depth of depravity sinners like you and I will sink to if given the right circumstances
• And He came absorb every injustice mankind has suffered in order to set at liberty those who are oppressed
