Framework

Crucifixion

"Graphic Nature of The Passion of The Christ "

Bob McCauley

• The soldiers start out using solid wooden whip-like devices and two of them take turns beating Him until they are so tired they have to lean down with their hands on their thighs.
• They then whip His hamstrings. This is the part that will make people really squirm. My legs automatically came up off my chair with each lash.
• At some point it became obvious that Jesus wasn't going to fall down so the soldiers were commanded to beat him with cat-of-nine-tails. Before this phase starts one of the soldiers hits a table and a big chunk of wood is knocked off. They then mercilessly beat Jesus with the cat-of-nine-tails until there are no un-struck places left on His back.
• They then turn Jesus over and beat him on His stomach until that is covered with whelps and blood. At some point, the whippings go into slow motion and Jesus' head pulses up and down with His eyes going back in His head.

It seams that this beating will never stop.. the soldiers end up covered with Jesus' blood and are totally exhausted. It is during these scenes that a great message it will be told to the world.. it will clearly communicate the extent as to what humans have done to God to allow Him to subject His Son to suffer this punishment. Because of this film and specifically because of the punishment scenes, the name of Jesus will be mentioned in the world during the next few weeks more than at all the other times in history. What an awesome opportunity for God to communicate with His creation.

I predict that during this time, people in the audience will start screaming and shouting at the soldiers. This type of activity happened when movies first came out. On Saturday afternoon at the movies, someone in the audience always tried to warn the good cowboy on the screen about a hiding villain. Some people will physically throw up during Jesus' punishment. They and others will leave the theater early.

There are 100 billion galaxies in our universe and 100 billion stars in our galaxy. The seminal point in history of those 100 billion galaxies is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was God in a physical representation on earth.  The very essence of a Christian's life revolves around the the happenings of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life before his death and the resurrection that followed three days later. Not only should every Christian consider seeing the Mel Gibson film, it should be a mandatory issue in their lives.  The fact that the film is gory, graphic and sometimes heart-wrenching only shows that it is realistic and true to God's written word.

Only by understanding what God had to be subjected to on Earth will any Christian understand what He has done for us.  The uncomfortable parts of the movie should evict emotions of thanksgiving and praise, for it is by those stripes of the whip that we are healed.  Every lash of the whip or cat-of-nine-tails is a picture of what we were headed to without the happenings of those 12 hours.  Physical punishment causes only temporary pain... the absence of a passport of eternal life has a pain enormity that can only be equated to the volume of stars and galaxies in the universe.

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