What Is The Foreshadowing In The Passion Of The Christ

From the opening scene of “The Passion of the Christ”, director Mel Gibson establishes a foreshadowing of what this film encompasses. Notably, appearing on the black screen are white words, from Isaiah 53, “He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by His wounds we are healed” (Gibson, 2004, scene 1). Regarding this, Gibson alludes to Jesus being the “He” this passage is referring to and in so doing, Gibson establishes a message to his modern day audience of Jesus being the “one who suffers” (Powell, 2009, p. 472), sent by God to fulfill this Old Testament passage. Accordingly, in the depiction of the last several hours of Christ’s life, the film distinctly portrays the abovementioned foretelling through grotesque,
disturbing, somber invoking scenes for an overwhelming majority of the film, with little focus on the actual life of Christ or His resurrection. Consequently, confusion arises about any greater purpose to the horrific affliction and death He endured, portrayed throughout the film. It is observable that Gibson’s illustration of Christ’s Passion highlights passages from each canonical Gospel, and likewise includes original material, not found within the Gospels, perhaps for the purpose of dramatic effect. Nevertheless, from a historically critical viewpoint, questionable elements do arise throughout. Presented by Gibson as a graphic theological interpretation of Christ’s sacrificial suffering and death, with inclusion of mixed elements from each canonical Gospel in a somewhat literal fashion, conjoined with artistically licensed material, the film does bear misleading historical inaccuracies important for a contemporary audience to recognize.
The theological message that Gibson presumably is endeavouring to communicate to his modern day viewers is the idea of Christ submissively accepting gruesome, unjust affliction leading to His death, in obedience to His heavenly Father.
Through Gibson’s inclusion of literal passages from the Gospels played out in various scenes, alongside dialogue and occurrences not found in any of the Gospels, he seemingly proclaims this intended message. By way of example, from the opening scenes of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane, representative parts of each Gospel are included. Moreover, dramatic, stress filled, passages of scriptures are put on screen with an eerie horror-like backdrop and dark blue lighting tones. In the film, Christ prays to the Father asking “If it is possible, let this chalice pass of me. But let your will be done, not mine” (Gibson, 2004, scene 1). Similarly, He speaks a prayer in the Gospels (Matthew 26:42; Mark 14:36; Luke 23:42 New Revised Standard Version). Additional examples providing parallel expressions are a betrayal by Judas, in the form of a kiss (Matthew 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:48). Likewise, Simon Peter revolts and fights the guard, Malchus, cutting off his ear (John 18:10; Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50) of which Jesus heals (Luke 22:51). Interestingly, Gibson adds a “tempter” to further capture his theological message. Nowhere in the Gospels is a tempter mentioned during Jesus time in the garden. Perhaps Gibson was playing out the words that Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew to “Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26: 41). Clearly, Jesus is experiencing extreme distress over the atrocity He would endure, which we do read about in Luke 22:44, but the intensity seems further magnified through the presence of the tempter. After much emotional torment, viewers of the film witness Jesus determinately
look this tempter in the eyes, and stand with climactic music playing in the background. As a serpent withers on scene, reminiscent of Genesis 3, He authoritatively crushes its head with His heel. This scene, original to the film and not included within any of the canonical Gospels, provides a symbolically strong statement of Christ accepting the fate of His imminent torture and crucifixion.
Another example of Gospel passages enacted in conjunction with creative additions from Gibson to communicate a specific theological message would be the scourging scene, at the hands of ferocious Roman soldiers. While the Gospels do reference Jesus receiving a sentence from Pilate to be scourged (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, Luke 23:16,23), there is no elaboration of how this punishment actually happened. Regardless, Gibson presents this scene for an extended length of time, making it cringe worthy for viewers. Just when it seems the graphic punishment is over, the Romans turn Jesus onto his back, repeat the process to the front of his body, leaving him flesh torn from head to toe. Once again, the “tempter” appears, carrying a grotesque being, like a mother would their baby, adding an additional disturbing layer to this scene. In contrast, nowhere is this graphic depiction spelled out in the written Gospels. Plausibly, while there may be supporting historical references in existence to scourging practices in the Ancient Mediterranean World, much liberation was taken by Gibson to communicate his intended message of the suffering Christ endured.
Obscure through Gibson’s story telling approach is an understanding of why Christ’s life, and subsequently His death, mattered so greatly. Why did He rattle the ancient audience in such tremendous ways that He, in their eyes, deserved torture and death? According to Powell (2009), the Gospels “appear to be written by people who have already thought deeply about the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection” (p. 91), but the “meaning” (Powell, 2009, p. 91) piece is lacking from Gibson’s film. Indeed, amidst the stomach churning scenes of Christ’s flogging and crucifixion, are interlaced flashback scenes filling in micro pieces of His life. Despite this, Gibson does not bring much spotlight to the teachings, miracles, or resurrection of Jesus found throughout the Gospels. In view of the lacking intentionality of focus on those pieces, and what the Gospels proclaim to be the ultimate mission Jesus testified to, in accordance to a passage like John 3:16, these punishment scenes promote a somewhat morally debased theological stance.