The movie The Passion of the Christ has caused some division among people. This should not be of any surprise. After all, Jesus and His message has caused division for over two thousand years.
The movie focused on the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus. This was the time of His suffering, His Passion for humanity. (The English word passion is based on the Greek word for suffering.) Many people can identify with the suffering within the movie. Many cannot. Maybe it is because they came to know Jesus through His message of love, compassion, and mercy.
Someone brought up an interesting question. Why did God need the blood sacrifice of His Son Jesus?
I am not a theologian, but I particularly do not think that God needed a blood sacrifice. God does not need anything from us. Peter Nixon posted an eloquent piece on this idea about a year ago, long before the movie came out. My friend Brian said something very similar to this earlier in the week. Maybe the blood sacrifice was for us. Maybe humanity needed to see the blood sacrifice. Everything that God has done has been for us. Why would God suddenly demand this for Himself. We, or at least some of us, needed to see the blood sacrifice for us to realize that our sins were forgiven. For others, this type of sacrifice was not needed. We know are sins are forgiven just by the words and life of Jesus. I don’t know. Maybe all of us do need His blood sacrifice, and we just don’t realize it.
Thomas Merton, in a little booklet called Opening the Bible, writes that the whole Bible is a story about redemption, reconciliation, and liberation. It is best illustrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you look at the movie, you will see all of these elements present. Some are just emphasized more than others.
Regardless of your opinion of the movie, I do know this: To accept Jesus into your life, you have to accept His whole message—His whole life, death, and resurrection—in order to be more like Him, to become holy and sanctified, to become adopted sons and daughters of God.