Two Thousand Years Later (The Passion Of The Christ)
TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER
Following the release of the film: The Passion Of The Christ, we
should take this opportunity to remember what it was that Jesus
Christ may have died for. Perhaps we can re-think and re-learn
the message He had been trying to tell us two thousand years
ago. ----------------------
The Passion of The Christ has caused a lot of discussions. Some
people accuse the film to be anti-Semitic or that it has the
potential to incite hatred and violence towards Jews. Other
people object mainly to Mel Gibson's gruesome depiction of Jesus
Christ's last 12 hours on earth in his latest film: The Passion
Of The Christ. Though these are of importance, we should not
allow Christ's main message to drown and be set aside in favor
of our discussions of religion, politics, film-comparisons,
film-critiques and censorship. We should take this opportunity
to remember what it was that Jesus Christ died for. Perhaps we
can re-think and re-learn the message He may have been trying to
tell us two thousand years ago.
I would have preferred this paper to discuss only the main
teaching of Christ and how it relates to us today; however I
feel that I should address the two most popular discussions
regarding the film before I can continue on. Was it
anti-Semitic? I don't believe the film was anti-Semitic. The
Jews had to make a decision then and they did it no differently
to how we, as a society, conduct our affairs today. In the
latter part of this document, I argue that there is no reason
for non-Jews to blame the Jews for what had happened. Was the
gore and violence of the film appropriate? Yes. I think that the
gore and violence of the film was important in illustrating the
sacrifice that Jesus had to make, and was willing to take, so
that we would understand what he had been trying to tell us all
along. The pain and suffering he had endured shows the amount of
strength that is required to love - completely and truly.
Regardless of what your religious beliefs are, or whether you
have a religion or not, let me first ask you to assume, just for
this paper, to forget religion. Forget the notion that Jesus
Christ was the Son of God. Forget the notion that he was sent
here by a Divine Power. Let us just assume that he was a mortal
man, made of flesh and blood, just like you and me. He saw the
world differently however. He interpreted information, his
experiences and his emotions differently to how most of us
process our internal and external environments. As a result, he
gained immense wisdom and knowledge beyond the comprehension of
most of us. He tried to tell us something. He tried to share
with us what he knew.
The main teachings of Jesus Christ revolve around the core idea
of LOVE. Love everything. Love everybody. Even your enemies! If
they hit you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. Like Buddha's
message: Do NOT do unto others what you would NOT like others do
unto you. Be compassionate towards all beings. That was what
they taught: LOVE.
He believed that it is the only philosophy that will allow us
all to achieve harmony and happiness in our universe and in our
lives. No amount of hate should be allowed every day and in
every way that we conduct ourselves. No matter what happens, we
must not hate or wish malicious thoughts towards anything or
anybody.
To spread that message, he spoke about it when he could, where
he could. People flocked to the mountains and in the temples
where he preached. A lot of his ideas fascinated people. They
were new, bizarre and sometimes his ideas went against basic
human instincts and the prevailing beliefs that people had at
the time. He was a leader, like a shepherd guiding his herd of
sheep. He led with utmost integrity.
We have had a lot of leaders in the past, now and we will
continue to follow them in the future. They tell us one thing
but they do not have the strength and courage it takes to refuse
to do another. They contradict themselves and their ideals.
Is it only our leaders, celebrities and other prominent members
of our society - whom we read about in the papers - who are at
fault? No. Their faults are our faults. How is that? Because we
still believe that it is OK to hate or express negative emotions
towards others whom we feel have done us wrong or will do us
wrong. We, as people, still exhibit little signs of compassion,
consideration, thoughtfulness and understanding towards other
people and other beings.
We experience negative emotions towards other people when they
mock us, when they ridicule us, when they bully us, when they
humiliate us, when they deny us justice or fairness, when they
torture us, when they kill or threaten to kill our loved ones,
or when they deny us anything else that we consider to be our
'human rights'.
"Of course", we say. "That's natural!"
That is exactly my point! Jesus Christ had to endure all that
and yet he had gone through his last twelve hours without
displaying any signs of anger, hatred, disappointment, greed or
fear. In fact, during his crucifixion, he still asked that his
enemies be forgiven for they knew not what they were doing. Who
among us has the courage, strength and wisdom to be able to
accept our predicaments like that?
Jesus Christ has shown us that we must love even our enemies, be
wise enough to increase our capacity to understand and show
compassion towards all beings...regardless of what happens.
The Jews at the time had to make a decision: to kill Jesus or
not. What would have been the right thing for them to do? They
did not know. If you were a common person in the streets of
Jerusalem at that time and you were asked what you would like to
happen to Jesus, what would you have said? For a lot of people,
the information they had of Jesus Christ was very sketchy. He
was whispered to be The Messiah. He had many controversial ideas
but he seemed very wise and he had helped ease the misery of a
lot of people. At the same time, Jesus was also accused of being
a liar, a madman, a witch and a blasphemer. He had made Lazarus
come back to life, walked on water and he had turned water into
wine. Would you have believed those miracles? If they were not
true, why would people have made them up? If they were true then
definitely, Jesus was no ordinary man. And if he had powers like
that, what else was he capable of doing? What if he was the
Devil in disguise? Maybe it was right that he be killed while
his threat could still be subdued. There were so many people
chanting for his death. Surely their reasoning would not have
been baseless.
It was not an easy decision for any person or any group of
people to make. Even Pontius Pilate who was in a position to
have all the information in the land to make a decision, was
torn what to do with Jesus. Pilate was like the President of the
United States, with all the advisers, intelligence agencies and
reporters at his disposal. Yet, he did not know what he was
supposed to do.
The decision came to pass to crucify Jesus. The High Priests
were threatened of him. Pontius Pilate weighed his decision and
allowed the people to make the choice for him. Those who were
most vocal and more aggressive in their belief that Jesus Christ
ought to die, got their way that day. There may have been people
who probably felt strongly against it but they were not willing
or able to do anything to stop it. Others were not there
probably because they allowed themselves to be in a position
where they knew too little information to have an opinion at a
time when it was crucial that they did. Sadly, many may not just
have cared.
Think of all current issues we face. There are some of us who
choose FOR or AGAINST a motion. Others do not choose, however,
by not choosing, they have also made a choice. As one global
voice, we are all divided in our opinions towards most of these
issues. And only with hindsight, can we truly assess the impact
of the choices we have made. It is the same dilemma that the
Jews faced then.
Should we look outside ourselves to see whom we can blame for
the killing of Jesus? No. The Jews killed Jesus, a fellow Jew,
but how different are we when we kill or hurt our own? How
different are we when we allow others to suffer because it was
not our problem or because we did not yet know enough about the
problem?
Added with our inability to be wiser than we are to accept and
feel compassion towards all beings, it was our 'human nature' to
hate and inflict pain and suffering on others that crucified
Jesus Christ. That 'human nature' still remains unchanged even
after two thousand years. What Jerusalem was then is what the
world is now. And it will be that way forever...until we change.