My husband and I watched the Passion last night. He'd never seen it before, and afterward he stared wide-eyed for a long time, thinking about Jesus' suffering.
It is not an easy thing to watch. It's nauseating, shocking, horrific. To see the flogging, the humiliation, the crucifixion of Jesus, even as a reenactment, is incredibly painful--especially considering that He went through all of that for us. A mother myself now, I can't even imagine Mary's desolation as she watched her baby suffer like that. It's almost too much to bear.
Through the movie we had the opportunity to witness one of my favorite Bible stories, from Luke 23:
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
I went to bed last night burdened by sorrow for the barbaric treatment of my King, but humbled deeply by the notion that he endured it all deliberately, joyfully, knowing he could save himself but unwilling to do so and leave me to die in my sins. I was in awe again at his treatment of that criminal hanging next to him. That he could enter into a situation so grim and so painful, and imbue even the darkest of moments with pure hope and love and forgiveness, is beyond my comprehension.
Imagine that man, condemned to die. Lost to his sins, deserving of punishment. Imagine his hopelessness as they nail him to his own cross.
And then imagine the turnaround. Jesus reaches out a lifeline to him in his hour of need, and this criminal, unloved by so many, finds his life even as he's dying. In that moment, everything changes for him.
We are all that criminal on the cross. Hated by the world, trapped in our sin. And even now Jesus offers us the same love, the same grace, the same power to conquer death. If we reach out to him, we are saved and transformed. That's all it takes.
I hope this truth becomes yours today, that the end of your life might be just the opposite--the beginning of a beautiful eternity.
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