Romantic vs. Reality
I know that my posting here is pretty random and spiradic. Simply put, I've been busy with stuff at the station and just haven't had much time to post. However, I've been thinking of something and I want to get it down here.
For the last almost two hours I've been watching The Passion of The Christ on cable. If you've never seen this movie you simply must. If this movie doesn't make you think about what Christ did for us then I don't know what will. We will never fully understand what He went through to save us from the punishment that we deserve but this will give you a pretty good idea.
I was talking to a friend of mine and I wonder if most people, even Christians, have any kind of clue of what Christ did for us. I've heard many sermons on the subject of the death and resurection and most pastors (and people in general) have tended to romanticize the event. They want you to think of a white man with flowing locks of brown hair and pure skin dying with honor and glory. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reason for His death but simply put the picture I just painted isn't near the reality. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all give accounts of what Christ's death was like but the picture they paint is anything but pretty.
In human terms, it was ugly.
The reality of it is, Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested. Shortly after His arrest and mock trial he was beaten, nay, flogged. Scourged. Almost in that he was at death's door. Can you imagine the pain and suffering that right there brought on to His body? He was beaten with rods. Mel Gibson's movie protrays Him being beaten with claws, a cat of nine tails, kicked, punched, spat upon. His very skin being ripped from his body. Bones showing. Trembling from the magnatude of the pain coursing through His body.
And that was before the cross was even a factor.
He was so weak from the beatings that a man had to be pulled from the crowd to help Christ carry the cross up the hill. A side note on that: If you watch the movie you notice that any time Jesus collapsed, the man carrying the cross could not bear the weight. Only when Jesus was carrying it with him could he stand the weight. That is a commentary about how we need Jesus to help us with our crosses!
After the cross was taken to the hill, Jesus was just then about to be nailed. Think about what He had already endured. He couldn't have been very "with it" as He was waiting for what came next. I can only imagine how incoherant and disoriented He must have been.
He's nailed to the cross. Now this in itself is some serious business. Nails being driven through His hands. Blood spattering with every blow of the hammer. Bones being pulvarized. Nerves being severed and the pain He was experiencing because of it.
Now, picture that happening again with His other hand and His feet.
Now imgine how it must have been with Him hanging on the cross for hours. The sun beating down on him and dehydration having long since set in being made worst now that the sun was beating Him with its rays. Shock had also long since set in due to the loss of blood. Finally... it's all over. Well, at least for the time being. The rest, as they say, is history.
I can't begin to imagine any of this. The sheer pain He experienced is something I'm sure we in our human form will never be able to come close to comprehending.
All while this pain is surely on his mind, so were we. Jesus knew the reason He had to suffer. God spelled it all out for him. Jesus was going to be taking on the sins of the world that already existed and the sins of all the future generations of mankind. God told Jesus who He would be dying for and that this wouldn't be easy. And he loved us so much that he said yes. God loved us so much that He offered up His Son to die for us! Jesus' love for us was so strong that He was praying for those who were persecuting him, driving the nails on the cross, those who had beaten and spit on Him. But He was also praying for those who presecute Him and His people today.
He truly practiced what He preached: Love your enemies and pray for them.
As you can see, there's nothing romantic about it. It was ugly. But you know what the best part of it all is? It was all done with love. He loved us that much and He still loves us today. All we have to do is have faith and live for Him.
That's something I can live with.
--Jonathan
For the last almost two hours I've been watching The Passion of The Christ on cable. If you've never seen this movie you simply must. If this movie doesn't make you think about what Christ did for us then I don't know what will. We will never fully understand what He went through to save us from the punishment that we deserve but this will give you a pretty good idea.
I was talking to a friend of mine and I wonder if most people, even Christians, have any kind of clue of what Christ did for us. I've heard many sermons on the subject of the death and resurection and most pastors (and people in general) have tended to romanticize the event. They want you to think of a white man with flowing locks of brown hair and pure skin dying with honor and glory. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reason for His death but simply put the picture I just painted isn't near the reality. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all give accounts of what Christ's death was like but the picture they paint is anything but pretty.
In human terms, it was ugly.
The reality of it is, Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested. Shortly after His arrest and mock trial he was beaten, nay, flogged. Scourged. Almost in that he was at death's door. Can you imagine the pain and suffering that right there brought on to His body? He was beaten with rods. Mel Gibson's movie protrays Him being beaten with claws, a cat of nine tails, kicked, punched, spat upon. His very skin being ripped from his body. Bones showing. Trembling from the magnatude of the pain coursing through His body.
And that was before the cross was even a factor.
He was so weak from the beatings that a man had to be pulled from the crowd to help Christ carry the cross up the hill. A side note on that: If you watch the movie you notice that any time Jesus collapsed, the man carrying the cross could not bear the weight. Only when Jesus was carrying it with him could he stand the weight. That is a commentary about how we need Jesus to help us with our crosses!
After the cross was taken to the hill, Jesus was just then about to be nailed. Think about what He had already endured. He couldn't have been very "with it" as He was waiting for what came next. I can only imagine how incoherant and disoriented He must have been.
He's nailed to the cross. Now this in itself is some serious business. Nails being driven through His hands. Blood spattering with every blow of the hammer. Bones being pulvarized. Nerves being severed and the pain He was experiencing because of it.
Now, picture that happening again with His other hand and His feet.
Now imgine how it must have been with Him hanging on the cross for hours. The sun beating down on him and dehydration having long since set in being made worst now that the sun was beating Him with its rays. Shock had also long since set in due to the loss of blood. Finally... it's all over. Well, at least for the time being. The rest, as they say, is history.
I can't begin to imagine any of this. The sheer pain He experienced is something I'm sure we in our human form will never be able to come close to comprehending.
All while this pain is surely on his mind, so were we. Jesus knew the reason He had to suffer. God spelled it all out for him. Jesus was going to be taking on the sins of the world that already existed and the sins of all the future generations of mankind. God told Jesus who He would be dying for and that this wouldn't be easy. And he loved us so much that he said yes. God loved us so much that He offered up His Son to die for us! Jesus' love for us was so strong that He was praying for those who were persecuting him, driving the nails on the cross, those who had beaten and spit on Him. But He was also praying for those who presecute Him and His people today.
He truly practiced what He preached: Love your enemies and pray for them.
As you can see, there's nothing romantic about it. It was ugly. But you know what the best part of it all is? It was all done with love. He loved us that much and He still loves us today. All we have to do is have faith and live for Him.
That's something I can live with.
--Jonathan
posted by Jonathan at
12:53 AM
1 Comments:
Just beautiful. I know when you told me you were going to watch it that I immediately tensed up. Like I told you, I've seen it once and I can't bear to see it again. I looked at my child after I got home from the theatre that day and thought about watching her die and I couldn't bear it. I don't have that much love in me. But God does. We should all take a moment to be thankful.
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Anonymous, At
1:36 AM
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