There seldom has been a movie that has created such favorable publicity and anticipation in the Evangelical community. A tidal wave of excitement is sweeping the church and the movie world. On the Catholic Ash Wednesday the film will appear in theaters across America. Evangelical churches are buying huge blocks of tickets, reserving theaters. An endless list of endorsements from church leaders publicly promoting the film is paraded. Names like Billy Graham, Jack Graham (President of the Southern Baptist Convention), Rick Warren, Jack Hayford, names of Catholic leaders, and an endless list of celebrities are presented to the public as endorsing the film. It is being promoted as one of the greatest evangelistic opportunities in history, a concept dear to the heart of every Evangelical. Even the secular media, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, the Internet, feed the frenzy. There is a fawning adulation of the film. The Evangelical church’s acceptance of Gibson’s movie gives shocking — maybe apocalyptic — insight into the state of popular Christianity today. Will history reveal this day as the time when Evangelicalism, on a popular level, merged with the Roman Catholic Church?
The Church of Rome has done much to lead modern Evangelicalism
into making images of the Lord. Like the Catholics, many
Evangelicals today seem not even to be aware that such
activity is idolatrous. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the fact
that idolatry involves exchanging the glory of the
incorruptible God for an image made like corruptible man.1 And
as he also stated to the Athenians, “forasmuch then as we
are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is like unto gold, silver, or stone, graven by
art or man’s device.”2
Christ Jesus is a member of that Godhead. He told the
religious leaders, “I said therefore unto you, that you
shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am
he, you shall die in your sins.”3 By using the
expression “I AM”, the Lord identifies Himself as the God
revealed in the Old Testament, the “I AM THAT I AM”, the
self-existing, eternal God who spoke to Moses4 and
gave the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. The Second
Commandment totally prohibits making material representations
of His person.5 In creating images of Christ in books,
videotapes, films, stained glass windows and other artistic
mediums — all things of “man’s device” — men have gone
beyond Scripture in their attempt to add to the biblical
revelation of who Christ is. The Lord God explicitly warned
against adding to His written Word6 and He warns just as
explicitly against adding visual images of the Godhead.7
Creating a visual representation of the Lord Jesus, by
definition, is to portray “another Jesus”. The Lord Jesus in
His Person, character, and work is divine and perfect. No
Savior other than the One proclaimed in Scripture is
permissible.8 Those who claim they are only depicting the
humanity of Jesus Christ fall into the grievous heresy of
Nestorius, as they wrongly attempt to divide the humanity from
the deity of Christ, ending up with idols produced by the
imaginations of their own hearts.
The Lord God gave believers a Wordbook, not a picture book.
The Gospel is at stake — for the Scripture states that “faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”9 The
Gospel is the power of God unto salvation as it is written,
read, preached, and spoken one to another. The power of the
Word is that it is God’s revealed propositional truth.
Rather than subjective imaginations created by man, “The
word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”10 It is God’s
revealed propositional truth that has the power to change the
hearts and minds of those who live in the darkness of their
own imaginations, for His light through the Written Word will
shine on their evil hearts and the thoughts and deeds that
flow from them. It is through this method that they will be
convicted of their need for a true Savior and ready for the
Gospel of God’s grace alone in which to trust by faith alone.
The visual works of a man’s devising, for all their emotional
power, are too dull a tool to bring to the individual
conviction of sin and the explicit Gospel of grace that the
Written Word and the truth preached bring.
But this fact notwithstanding, a three-dimensional image of
Christ is not only allowed by official Catholic teaching, but
it is also to be venerated. The Vatican states, “Basing itself
on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical
council at Nicaea (787) justified . . . the veneration
of icons — of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the
angels, and all the saints.”11 The temptation to replace the
biblical Lord with a visible Christ dominates Catholic nations
across of the world. Men calling themselves Christian are now
beginning to accept it. A figure one can touch, see, wear on
jewelry, and is visible in statues and on a crucifix, is
identified as an object through which one can approach God and
learn of Him.12 Yet the Scripture clearly states that “there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus.”13 The Lord God is approachable only through
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.14 But as the bleeding Savior
Gibson’s passion is presented to the world, this fact seems
thrown aside. We ask, then, what worse blasphemy could there
be than depicting with an image the Lord God who condemns
images? Evangelical leaders, by endorsing this Catholic film,
further solidify the image of the counterfeit Christ upon the
minds of many.
As we have seen, the Catholic Church claims authority to make
images of the Lord. Since the Bible absolutely forbids this
practice, where shall Evangelicals find authority for using
such images? Under what handier shelter can they hide than the
umbrella of the Catholic Church? Cut adrift from biblical
authority, Evangelicals seem to be drifting more and more
under the Catholic system of authority. Once they have, in
practice, surrendered biblical authority and accepted the
papal system of authority regarding the use of images of the
Lord, where will Evangelicals draw the line on papal
authority? This is only one of the unforeseen consequences
that started when Evangelicals accepted
forbidden pictures to represent the Lord and entered into
dialogue with the Catholic Church.
True meaning of the Cross as revealed in God’s Written Word
Scripture makes clear that the meaning of Christ’s crucifixion
lay not in His physical suffering, but in His propitiation of
the wrath of God.15 God’s wrath was utterly placed on Christ
Jesus, who suffered the full extent of its unabated curse for
the sins for His people. The fullness of divine wrath that
Christ suffered was like that fire from heaven, recorded in
the Old Testament, which consumed the sacrifices. The wrath
that should have fallen upon the sinner, had God not been
appeased, fell upon Him. He uttered the loud cry, “My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”16 The representative
relationship of Christ to His people is a real and necessary
one. The All Holy God deemed it just to punish Christ for the
sins of His people, and to credit them with His righteousness,
and thus completely satisfy all the demands of His law upon
them. Why was Christ’s perfect life followed by the most
terrible punishment? Strict substitution demanded it so that
real imputation of His righteousness to His own people could
follow. Rather than the physical torture He suffered, the
absolute horror that Christ endured was separation from His
Father. In His Spirit, He felt the full wrath of God. The
Apostle Paul explained it precisely, “For He hath made Him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him.”17Christ Jesus was “made
sin” for His people. The wrath of God’s holiness flamed
against Him. He was the sin offering, the sacrifice for sin.
“It pleased the Lord to bruise him; He hath put him to
grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.”18
He was personally All Holy; yet as the substitute for His own,
He rendered Himself legally responsible before the judgment of
God. The consequence of Christ’s faithfulness in all that He
did culminated in His death on the cross and in His
resurrection that followed. His righteousness is credited to
the believer, “even the righteousness of God which is by
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that
believe.”19 It was God who legally constituted Christ to be
“sin for us.” He was “made sin” because the sins
of His people were transferred to Him, and in like manner, the
believer is made “the righteousness of God in Him” by
God’s reckoning to the believer Christ’s faithfulness to the
precepts of the law. Quite clearly therefore, justification,
the Gospel message, is the gracious act of God whereby a
believing sinner has forgiveness of sin and legal right
standing in Christ. As Christ, who knew no sin of His own, was
made sin for believers, so they, who have no righteousness of
their own, are made the righteousness of God in Him. It is of
extreme importance that this entire biblical Gospel message is
missing from the movie, and that in its place is given the
traditional Catholic faith of Mel Gibson, and Jim Caviezel,
who stars as Christ.
A Catholic Film with a Catholic Message
Mel Gibson is a traditionalist Catholic. He has produced this
film with an image of “Christ” that is based on the
apparitions of the Catholic mystic, Anne Catherine Emmerich,
who claimed to have seen visions of the passion, death and
resurrection of “Christ” which were recorded in her book,
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.20 She
narrated in incredible detail her understanding of the
horrendous sufferings undergone in His heroic act of
Redemption.
The Church of Rome likewise juxtaposes the sacrifice of the
cross with the sacrifice of the Mass, to which Mel Gibson has
given clear testimony. She teaches that the Mass and Christ’s
sacrifice are “one single sacrifice”. Thus she declares,
“The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist
are one single sacrifice: ‘The victim is one and the
same . . . ’This divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the
Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody
manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is
offered in an unbloody manner.”22Blending images together
with the sacrifice of the Cross and with the sacrifice of the
Mass is extremely dangerous to the state of one’s soul. Divine
perfection is seen in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ’s
sacrifice on the cross was one sacrifice, once offered. To put
forward a reenactment of the one offering, once offered, is to
replace the truth with a falsehood implying that Christ’s
sacrifice was not sufficient and therefore imperfect. This is
an utter blasphemy against the All Holy God. In Catholicism
and in the Passion movie, willfully putting together the
sacrifice of the cross with the sacrifice of the Mass produces
a dramatic and a theatrical lie that serves only to deceive
the very ones it is purportedly meant to help.
Concerning the film, Gibson has declared, “It reflects my
beliefs.”23 He also has stated, “There is no salvation for those
outside the [Catholic] Church . . . I believe it.”24 Clearly, before
the public eye, here is a Catholic movie, made by a Catholic
director, with Catholic theological advisers and a Catholic
message. According to a Catholic website, Catholic Passion
Outreach, “The Passion of The Christ offers a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to spread, strengthen,
and share the Catholic faith with your family and friends.”25
It is obvious from this and other Catholic sources that
Catholics see this film as an excellent way to convey the
Catholic Christ.
Relationship of Christ to the Father: replaced with “Mary”
offering her Son
Christ’s willing sacrifice of Himself on the cross and His
subsequent resurrection is the greatest event in history, the
culminating achievement of God. The sacrifice as given in
Scripture shows forth the unique and distinctive relationship
of Christ to the Father. Christ’s readiness to fulfill His
Father’s will is seen in His words, “lo, I come to do thy
will, O God.”26 The Father’s will focused in Christ’s
sacrifice to satisfy His divine justice through the atonement
of Christ, which was the propitiation of His just wrath. It
was an act of His will, and most profitable for His people.
The priceless double empowerment of Christ’s perfect sacrifice
is proclaimed by the Holy Spirit, “by the which will we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.”27 Christ’s sacrifice originated in will of
God the Father. It was essential that the Father should be
willing to call His Son to this work, for He was the Person
unto whom the satisfaction was to be made. The sacrifice was
the Father’s plan and purpose. “Him [Christ Jesus] being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God.”28 “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice
for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God. For by
one offering He hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified.”29 The one offering of Christ, willed by the
Father, was offered. In view of this perfect sacrifice, to
dare to propose a relationship of Christ to Mary is to
denigrate the very will and purpose of the Father. This
profane sacrilege is just what is portrayed in the Catholic
movie. Andrew J. Webb notes,
Fruitfulness of interaction between the Father and the Son
Christ Jesus has triumphed in His sacrifice, and He will
perfectly give to all those that come to Him freedom from the
guilt of, the power of, and the punishment of sin. He will put
them into the sure possession of perfect holiness and joy of
fellowship with Himself and the Father. “And their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where
remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”32
The true believer’s sins and iniquities the Father will
remember no more! This shows the riches of Divine grace, and
the sufficiency of Christ’s relationship with His Father in
the satisfaction of the cross, “where remission of these
is, there is no more offering for sin.”33 Nothing can ever
separate the perfection of the accord between the Father and
the Son.
One cannot question Gibson’s sincerity. Yet the utterly evil
deceit of his purpose — to portray his classic Catholic
understanding of the crucifixion of Christ — coupled with a
very effective medium of communication, reaches new heights in
promoting blasphemy and contempt for Holy God and His Word!
This is undoubtedly the exact opposite of what Gibson had
hoped to achieve. Clearly then, Gibson himself and Jim
Caviezel, who plays the role of Christ in the film, are two of
those most deceived by the Catholic message. On the authority
of Scripture alone, may the all Holy God in His mercy pour
forth mercy on these poor men to the saving of their souls
through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone and to God alone be
the glory!
Influence of the apparitions of “Mary” in Medjugorje on the
film
The apparitions of “Mary” in Medjugorje in Bosnia,
Herzegovina, have had a huge impact on this film. The Catholic
Church rationalizes acceptance of other sources of
extra-Biblical revelation by stating that the ordinary
faithful Catholics welcome whatever the “magisterium”
(teaching power of the Roman Church) guides them into
accepting.34 She consolidates her power over the rank and file
Catholics by denying in practice that revelation is complete
and definitive. “The last century-and-a-half has seen numerous
accounts of appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus,
Himself, is said to speak to a few of the seers. Some of the
apparitions have received official approval by the Roman
Catholic Church.”35 “. . . Our Lady continues to give messages to
six young people from the village of Medjugorje: Ivan, Jakov,
Marija, Mirjana, Vicka, and Ivanka. These six young people
(referred to as “visionaries”) have had apparitions of the
Blessed Virgin Mary since June 24, 1981 . . .”36 The influence of
“Mary” of Medjugorje has been documented in the case of Jim
Caviezel, who stars as Christ in the movie. In an interview
with Fr. Mario Knezovic in Medjugorje on December
6th, 2003 Caviezel said,
Fr. Mario Knezovic said to him,
The fact that the message of “Mary” in Medjugorje so deeply
influenced Jim Caviezel shows his point of view, and that of
the movie in which he has the main role. Medjugorje teaches
that the sufferings of Christ are the offense, or the
great sin against God, “Make reparation for the wound
inflicted on the Heart of My Son.”39 The truth is that the
wounds inflicted on Christ are the reason we do not need to
make reparations, but solely to believe the Gospel. The
message of Medjugorje shows contempt for the sanctity and
purpose of the Cross of Christ. The blasphemy of Medjugorje
has had its influence on the film. The authority of Scripture
weighs in on the matter, “and no marvel; for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light.”40 Such things as
pieces of bones carried around as relics in a pocket of Jim
Caviezel’s clothes may seem like occult practices, but for a
Catholic it is official teaching.41 Papal Rome also encourages
people to contact the dead.42
A defining moment of the present time
As visual images form the foundation for learning in modern
world, so images, movies, and videos of Christ have been
accepted in Evangelical circles. This idolatry has reached new
heights in the highly Catholic portrayal of the sufferings of
Christ in the Passion movie. The Christ portrayed, however, is
not the Christ of the Bible. The sufferings are not those of
the One who was “made sin” because the sins of His
people. It does depict horrendous sufferings, however,
undergone in a heroic manner, and these are juxtaposed with
the Catholic sacrifice of the Mass. This heavy manipulation of
people’s emotions is promoted through enticing images and
strange sounding words in Aramaic, the sum of which is to
establish collectively both a blasphemy against God and a
deceit against man. This high point of idolatry is evidence of
a real turning point in our day. It is very much like the
idolatry of Jeroboam, who sinned himself, and who made Israel
to sin.43 Families and kingdoms were ruined by Jeroboam’s
idolatry. Once influential men do wickedly, they involve many
others both in their guilt and in their snare. Multitudes
follow their pernicious ways. The Lord God gave Israel up to
their wickedness because of the sin of Jeroboam.
In all seriousness it appears that in our own day, the Lord
God could hand over the Evangelical world to the deceit into
which they are running with open arms. They may very well go
to hell with a long procession following them, and their
condemnation will be intolerable. They will have to answer,
not only for their own sins, but for the sins which others
have been drawn into by their influence. In the Old Testament,
judgment came upon the people of Israel for conforming to the
idolatry of Jeroboam. In our own day, both blind leaders and
their blind followers look ready to fall into the ditch.
“Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will
fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”44 It is the
duty of churches, pastors, elders, and Evangelical leaders who
have sinned in this tidal wave of idolatry in the use of
images, videos, and movies of Christ to repent publicly. It is
the duty of Christian people themselves to repent of these
sins, in so far as they have been accessory to them by
involvement. When God comes to punish the corrupt members of
His people, His rebuke will be most sore. No sword cuts so
deeply, nor causes so grievous pain, as the sword of Christ
Jesus’ mouth. We truly pray that the truth of the Word of God
touch the conscience of those who have sinned, are sinning and
leading others into sin. If the Lord’s threats are executed,
sinners will be utterly cut off. We truly pray that the Word
of God will take hold of sinners, including ourselves, so that
we all “hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering; for he is faithful that promised.”45 “And we
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are
in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves
from idols. Amen.”46
Notes
Permission is given by the authors to copy
this article if it is done in its entirety without any changes.
Permission is given also to publish this
article in its entirety on the Internet
Richard Bennett’s website is: bereanbeacon.org
Virgil Dunbar has written a book on this topic, Christ Can’t Be Pictured—God is not like Art.The book is available for free online at notlikeart.blogspot.com
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"The Passion of Christ": Mel Gibson's Vivid Deception By Richard Bennett and J. Virgil Dunbar
