The Passion of the Christ

Actor and director Mel Gibson is known for movies of action, adventure and romance, so for many, this movie on the last 12 hours on the life of Christ came as a surprise. In response to the question: “What made you decide to do a religious film?” Gibson replied:

“I’m doing what I’ve always done: telling stories I think are important in the language I speak best: film. I think most great stories are hero stories. People want to reach out and grab at something higher, and vicariously live through heroism, and lift their spirit that way.

There is no greater hero story than this one — about the greatest love one can have, which is to lay down one’s life for someone. The Passion is the biggest adventure story of all time. I think it’s the biggest love-story of all time; God becoming man and men killing God — if that’s not action, nothing is.”

In this study we’ll consider all the events around the suffering and death of Christ as we view these scenes from the most shockingly realistic movie of the Passion ever made. We’ll also examine the inaccuracies and embellishments in the film as we compare it to the Biblical accounts. This film is rated “R” because of the realistic violence surrounding Christ’s passion and may not be appropriate for young viewers. Parental supervision is strongly advised.