Passion of Christ

What are you doing tomorrow?…After my church services and family meal, we will settle in to watch this.

How bout you?

This film opens in Gethsemane in medias res as Jesus prays and is tempted by Satan, while his apostles, Peter, James and John sleep. After receiving thirty pieces of silver, one of Jesus' other apostles, Judas Iscariot, approaches with the temple guards and betrays Jesus with a kiss. As the guards move in to arrest Jesus, Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, but Jesus heals the ear. The temple guards arrest Jesus and the apostles flee. John tells Mary and Mary Magdalene of the arrest. Peter follows Jesus at a distance. Caiaphas holds a trial of Jesus over the objection of some of the other priests, who are expelled from the court. When questioned by Caiaphas whether he is the son of God, Jesus replies "I AM". Caiaphas is horrified and tears his robes and Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy. Three times Peter denies knowing Jesus, but then runs away sobbing. Meanwhile, the remorseful Judas attempts to return the money to have Jesus freed, but is refused by the priests. He is later approached by two children who offer him help. He refuses it and the children thinks he is cursed. They bully him while more children join the fun. Tormented by demons, he flees the city and the bullying children and hangs himself with a rope from a dead donkey.

Caiaphas brings Jesus before Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death, but after questioning Jesus, Pilate sends him instead to the court of Herod Antipas, as Jesus is from Herod's ruling town of Nazareth. After Jesus is returned, Pilate offers the crowd that he will chastise Jesus and then will set him free. Pilate attempts to have Jesus freed by giving the people an option of freeing Jesus or the violent criminal Barabbas. To Pilate's dismay, the crowd demands to have Barabbas freed and Jesus killed. In an attempt to appease the crowd, Pilate has Jesus brutally scourged and mocked with a crown of thorns, yet the crowd continues to demand that Jesus be crucified. Pilate is left with no choice but to reluctantly order Jesus' crucifixion.

As Jesus carries the cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, Seraphia wipes Jesus's face with her veil. Simon of Cyrene is unwillingly pressed into carrying the cross with Jesus. Jesus is then crucified. As he hangs from the cross, Jesus prays forgiveness for those who did this to him and redeems a criminal crucified next to him. After Jesus gives up his spirit and dies, a single drop of rain falls from the sky, triggering an earthquake which destroys the Temple and rips the cloth covering the Holy of Holies in two, to the horror of Caiaphas and the other priests. Satan is then shown screaming in defeat. The story ends with Jesus rising from the dead and exiting his tomb.

John 3:16 -

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Cindy