I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about reality and what the Bible has to say about the Death of Christ…

…This week, a new controversial film, “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST,” produced by Hollywood actor Mel Gibson is being shown to the world. A raging controversy has begun about the intent and message of the film. Will the angry passion of man die down, or increase as a result of the public actually viewing this movie? The answer revolves around a true understanding of the death of Christ portrayed, not as Gibson or Hollywood desires to do, but as the Bible exclusively teaches us. Today on our programming I would like to in a sense, set the record straight about who killed Jesus, what suffering He endured to save us from our sins, and what response humanity is to make toward Him in this day and age we live in.

However, before I put this into a perspective all can understand and appreciate, we’ll pause one more time for another musical selection and then delve deeply into the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ…

… The late theological scholar, Dr. William Evans once wrote:

 “Christianity is a religion of atonement distinctively. The elimination of the doctrine of the death of Christ from the religion that bears His name would mean the surrender of its uniqueness and claim to be the only true religion, the supreme and final revelation from God to the sons of men…. Christianity is not merely a system of ethics; it is the history of redemption through Jesus Christ, the personal Redeemer.”[i] 

Indeed, such words help us to get on the right path to examine the truth behind the story of Christ’s death on a cross long ago.

The recent film portrayal of Christ’s death through the mind and interpretations of Mel Gibson, a popular Hollywood actor, whose Roman Catholic faith he has said has driven him to portray the horrible torture and abuse Jesus Christ suffered at the hands of men. Herein lies the age-old controversy and question – “Who killed Jesus?” In the film, Gibson, somewhat following the Bible’s record, reports that Christ died at the hand of cruel men, specifically the Jews and the Romans. Many fear this film will again revive the ancient hatred of zealous but misguided religionists who persecuted and killed Jews for the despicable crime of murdering Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

However, in our modern 21^st century, such fears I believe are unfounded, for no matter who was actually responsible for the horrible torture and historical death of Christ Jesus, it bear little resemblance and culpability to anyone living today, be they Jewish or Gentile. Of course, anyone can manufacture their own brand of hatred and carry it out with one’s own vain feeble excuses. Take the religion of Islam and its hatred of life in the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ. Through the false prophet and terrorist Muhammad, an entire religion was born that created the false god millions worship the in the faith of Islam. This god promotes a love for death, and through the interpretations of its prophet Muhammad, Islam’s faith is dedicated to seeing the subjugation of the world to its harsh, unloving, and often brutal teachings of torture and death. Yet that is not what the Bible teaches, nor which the death of Christ appropriated. So let’s begin by looking first of all, at some of the most popular misconceptions surrounding the death of Christ.

FALSE CONCEPTIONS OF CHRIST’S DEATH

Throughout history, men have come up with false ideas about the meaning of the death of Christ. Sometimes their ideas are completely false; at other times they have been partially true but inadequate because they omit the central idea of “substitution.” For instance, the first wrong idea of Christ’s death is that …

1. “The death of Christ was a ransom paid to Satan. While it is true that the Bible says His sacrifice paid a ransom, simply meaning a debt owed, it does not say that it was paid to Satan. This is utter foolishness.

2. Christ’s death was not necessary to pay for sin. Some say His death was simply an expression of the love of God, which ought to exert a moral influence on us, softening our hearts and thus leading us to repentance. Again a grossly incorrect view. Third…

3. Christ’s death did not atone for sin nor did it move God to pardon sin. Still others teach that His death reveals to men the way of faith and obedience as the way to eternal life and is thus an “example:” to inspire us to lead a similar life.

4. Christ died A NEEDLESS SUICIDAL DEATH  His death came about some say by His own “death wish,” which He fostered and promoted until the Romans and Jews granted his request. This of course is blasphemous and untrue.[ii]

There you have at least four false concepts applied to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary around 33 AD. None of them teach the clear truth God has revealed to us in His holy Word the Bible.

Now having reviews the false concepts out of the way, we must ask what did Mel Gibson’s film “THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST” actually portray about the death of Christ? Well not having seen it personally I can only comment on what the publicity, reviews and promotional information have reported. Gibson himself  in an interview on ABC Television this past week, declared that his goal was to “show the awful, brutal agony Jesus Christ suffered” in His passion death on the cross, and to “shock the viewers.”. Unfortunately, like many in the past, his emphasis on Christ’s passion week suffering has taken many eyes off the truth surrounding this special death.

Going back to the Bible though, we discover that the sacred text simply says, “they crucified Him,”(Mat. 27:25) sparing us all the painful details Gibson visualized in his film, which to my mind has been overplayed to the extend of eclipsing from our view the real atoning work Christ performed in his death on the cross.

So, to set the record straight everyone needs to know that what Jesus suffered those days of His crucifixion death at the hands of evil men, be they Jew or Gentiles, DID NOTHING AT ALL, to contribute to His atoning worK! Rather, it simply revealed the sinful state of fallen man, whose hatred of God, has not abated to this day. The Bible says that the plan to kill Jesus revealed the spiritual state and just condemnation of all who were involved in this heinous crime

Luke 2:35 (NIV)  so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

Acts 4:27 (NIV)  Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

Now, death by crucifixion was and still is of course the most painful, shameful punishment inflicted at that time. This agonizing experience left the victim living from two to seven days in absolute relentless torture. There on a cross, the victim suffered from torn flesh and muscles, infected wounds, swollen tissues, the heat of the sun, the cold of night, dire thirst, the bites of insects and often the attacks of animals which all combined  - made it the most horrible way to die. Yet the film the PASSION OF THE CHRIST,  by Gibson apparently dwelled upon the extreme brutality of man which is by the way the Roman Catholic emphasis of viewing the death of Christ. Even Gibson himself in his ABC interview said, “THIS SUFFERING CHRIST EXPERIENCED IS WHAT BOUGHT OUR SALVATION”

But now here is the truth surrounding the real death of Christ you need to know and understand, for in so doing it can and will lead all to understand the true love of God for sinners, and the hope that through Christ’s horrible experience, we can be saved from our sins. Are you ready? Here goes…

From the beginning of mankind’s existence, the Bible confirms that the sin of Adam and Eve brought physical and spiritual death to all humanity. In light of it, God planned to rescue them from their fate that awaited them in eternity. God planned to offer a substitute to die for their and our sins. So, in response to Adam and Eve’s sin, which brought them both physical and spiritual death, God spoke and said,

Gen 3:15 (NIV)  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Here in embryo form, God began the process of telling us how He was going to redeem lost sinners who were condemned, for breaking God’s His holy just law, to death. The Bible says,

Ezek 18:20 (NIV)  “The soul who sins is the one who will die.”

Rom 6:23 (NIV)  “For the wages of sin is death…”

Thus, when Jesus Christ was born, we are told He was the the promised fulfillment of God to send us a Savior or literally a substitute. Jesus Christ was no mere man, but the infinite God-Man come to earth in fulfillment of God’s promise to send that “substitute” to take our place in eternity to pay our penalty or wages of sin earned.

The Bible tells us God Himself came in the flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:1-3,14), so that He could qualify to be our substitute to die for us. The Bible says Jesus Christ bore our sins (1 Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53:6), but what we need to know and understand is on the cross – CHRIST BECAME SIN FOR US!

2 Cor 5:21 (NIV)  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Now, the question often not asked, and equally misunderstood is how did Christ die and what atoned for our sins? Was his suffering at the hands of men contributory to atonement? The answer no, not at all! It should carefully be noted that MAN’S SHEDDING OF CHRIST’S BLOOD did not make atonement any more than the countless animal sacrifices of Israel down through the centuries. For sure Jesus was tortured, he bled profusely from the murderous acts of men, but He didn’t die as a result! You see the Bible tells us this too. We read in the Bible that Christ’s very life was not taken by the Jews or the Romans…

John 10:18 (NIV)  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

Our Lord’s physical death was deliberate and voluntary; He did not die from the natural results of sin or from loss of blood, exposure, and traumatic or cardiogenic shock causing his heart to fail as some have theorized. Nor, was Jesus suicidal as some propose these days. Furthermore, Jesus was not killed by the Jews for Christ being God Himself and the owner of infinite eternal life uniquely and voluntarily laid down His life and only gave it up when He had fully, forever and once for all atoned for the sins of the fallen human race.

You see to dwell upon the torturous death plans of hateful men misses the point and takes us away from who it was that really killed Jesus. Shocking as it may seem the truth is it was GOD HIMSELF! Yes, God the father allowed sinners to place Christ on the cross to die, but it was the Father God who punished Him there and poured out His torrential wrath against sin and sinners using Christ, the God-man as our substitute.

Now, we are not allowed to know or understand exactly how God punished Christ, except to understand that the real punishment and death was a painful “separation” from the Father. This is why the God man cried out,

Mat 27:46 (NIV)  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

There on the cross God the Son experienced the reality of Hell in all its fullest fury! In fact, the atonement was the combined work of all the Members of the Trinity: God the Father (2 Cor. 5:19; John 3:16), God the Son ( Mat. 20:28; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 3:18), and God the Spirit (Heb. 9:14). The Son offered Himself in obedience to the Father, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father gave the Son as a propitiation for our sins, and for those of the world.

On that cruel cross, Jesus died only because He gave up His life in death for sinners, so He might rise from the grave giving victory over sin and death. So the truth about Christ’s death is this - only when Jesus was placed on the cross, then began the work of redemption. Everything prior to this was the sinful hatred of men and of no contributory value at all in Christ’s atoning death. Therefore, like the Bible, we must not dwell upon it or promote it via Hollywood style.

This I believe is where Gibson’s film, the “PASSION OF THE CHRIST,” fails to honor the Word of God. It takes our eyes of God’s hatred for sin and sends it to man’s hatred for God. Indeed the cross and what led up to it is why Christ had to die, but remember it was not the means of His death.

You see, during the awful hours of darkness on the cross ( Mt. 27:35), our Lord and the Father God dealt with the sins of the world, as Christ experienced the awful reality of being made sin for us and the full fury of God’s hatred for sin fell upon Him and crushed Him. We read of this in,

Isa 53:10 (NIV)  Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

There on the cross after Christ completed the full and final payment for sin, God’s holy and righteous nature was appeased or propitiated. As a result, God’s love could be shown and given to all sinners who would be covered by this substitutionary payment for sin. Indeed, it was Christ’s “spiritual death” that atoned for our sins, and His “physical death” purchased us resurrection life. Keep in mind the Lord’s physical death was not associated with divine wrath or payment for sin.

Mel Gibson’s controversial film then has little bearing on who really and truly killed Jesus. It was not the Jews, nor the Romans nor any human being alive then or now. It was God the Father who took His life in death as a substitute for your sin and mine. Yes, Jesus had to die, but God foreknew that man’s hatred for a holy righteous God would be the instrument God would use to atone for our sins. While Gibson’s film emphasizes the brutality of man against Christ, the Bible has sparingly preserved for us the indignities that were done to Jesus before His execution.

The real moment of Christ’s passion was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus and fully and forever paid for sin. It was then He cried out,

John 19:30 (NIV)  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 These words specify not the end of Jesus' life, but the completion of His task. The verb tense is perfect. "It is finished!" The purpose of His hour has been completed, and the consequences of His work are enduring. Literally the Greek word translated “ It is finished!" was a unique word. Receipts for taxes found in first century papyri have written across them this single Greek word, “Tetelastai” which means "paid in full." The price for our redemption from sin was paid in full by our Lord's death at the hands of God’s wrath. Christ therefore cried out – THE DEBT IS PAID IN FULL! Then and only then, he gave up His physical life and suffered the other portion and penalty for sin – physical death.

Now the question before the entire world, and especially those who have seen this film, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST by Mel Gibson, is this. What will you do in response to this amazing gift of a sacrificial atonement God made for your sin?

You have two choices. First, you can brush it aside and reject its value as nothing worthy of your receipt. To do this though causes you to remain in your sins, and one day you will be the one who dies for it. Although you may not die on a cross, you will suffer the pain and agony of spiritual death, as you are separated from all that God is, and cast into what the Bible says is the “Lake of Fire” that burns forever and ever. You see you are a creature created in the image of God. This means God gave you a life entity that will live forever. Choosing to live without God here and now will also be your final reward. Do you really want this? Do you really want to suffer for all eternity in a place called Hell? Especially, since God has gone to all the trouble to save you from it?

The second response you can make to understanding Christ’s death on the cross is to accept it and believe God’s wrath is forever appeased by Christ satisfactory and substitute death for you. Those who do recognize who Jesus really is. He is our Creator God come in the flesh. He is the “love God” who cares so much for us, to die in our place to satisfy His holy righteous demands for absolute perfection like Himself. Jesus died for you and for me, and all those who bow their hearts in surrender to His will for us, and offer up their lives to God in thankfulness -  become the recipients of Christ’s death payment. As such, when eternity comes for us through physical death, we shall be saved from Hell and God’s wrath to be poured out on sinners forever and ever.

I’m glad this film, the Passion of the Christ, by Hollywood actor Mel Gibson, was done. Not because of what it portrayed, but it has drawn the secular minds of the world to again think about Jesus Christ.  However, to think about Him is not enough. Everyone needs to realize, that it was not the Jews or Romans who killed Christ, they represented the hatred of all mankind born with a sin nature that says “no” to God! This sin nature is so wicked and evil, if given the opportunity it would kill God if it could. This is why Jeremiah the prophet of old declared,

Jer 17:9 (NIV)  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Acts 16:31 (NIV)  "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

Now it’s up to you my friend. Will you take Christ as your Lord God and Savior from your sins? Will the suffering and death of Christ move you to call upon Him to grant you His forgiveness? If not, then the worst is yet to come for you, and one day when death takes your physical life, you’ll discover what Christ suffered on the cross, and you will experience it forever and ever. Don’t let that happen, surrender to Christ now and be saved for all eternity.