April Conversations with the Culture: Movie is Passion of the Christ

No man can bear the sins of the entire world.  No One

 

For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world

 

Digging Deeper

Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, unfolds the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus (as portrayed by Jim Caviezel).  One of the most powerful scenes takes place at the beginning of the movie, when Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and Satan (Rosalinda Celentano) appears at his side.  Attempting to convince Christ that He cannot bear the sins of the entire world, a snake slithers to where Jesus is praying prostrate on the ground.  Gathering himself, Jesus rises to his feet, and crushes the head of the snake under his feet.  To see a youtube video that provides a great synopsis of the movie, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgbBYdDZA8

This battle between good and evil is powerfully portrayed through the movie.  It is an ancient story, because it begins when Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, and God cursed the snake, and said to Satan in Genesis 3:15:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.

This story is also told in the heavens, though few Christians understand the relationship between the story of God’s plan of salvation as it is unfolded in the stars. In Psalms 19:1-2, we read:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.

Did you catch that?  “Night to night reveals Knowledge.”  What kind of knowledge?  In Isaiah, we learn that God ordered the constellations.  In Isaiah 41:26, we read:

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.

And in Job 38:31-33, we see this amazing statement, as the Lord rebukes Job, saying:

Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion?  Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites?  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, or fix their rule over the earth?

Two constellations which come together to declare the Glory of the Heavens are the constellations Hercules and Draco.  In Greek mythology, they tell the story of how Hercules, in performing his 12 labors, must battle a seven headed snake known as the Hydra.  Each Spring, the foot of Hercules comes to rest above the head of the snake in the constellation Draco.  Now, for most people, this is where the story ends.  But in modern times, Christians forget that many ancient civilizations had their own names for these constellations – and saw the story of the heavens declaring a divine revelation. 

For the Hebrew, it was when “The Mighty One” would come to fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15.  In the New Testament, Paul makes this statement in Romans 16:20:

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

What a powerful statement.  In this season of Easter, let us contemplate and rejoice over how God has defeated death, and crushed the power of Satan.  Jesus Christ extends God’s love to all of us.  He bore our sins so that we might be made righteous before God. In humility, He made Himself lower than the angels.  And it is for this reason that in Hebrew the Constellation Hercules is known simply as “The Kneeler.”

 I’ve recently created a YouTube video that provides an introduction to my novel, The Brotherhood of the Scroll. 

If you would, take a moment to see what you think by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQfkdCN6ng