With the observance of Good Friday, reruns of The Passion of the Christ, produced by Mel Gibson, are being shown on television. I am reminded of my reaction to it when it first came out in the theaters several years ago. I always react emotionally to depictions of the passion, whether in the movies or live theater. It was particularly difficult for me to watch this extremely graphic portrayal of our Savior's scourging and crucifixion.
We had taken my Aunt Gertie, who was 90 and a recent Jewish believer in Yeshua, to see the movie. She had become a completed Jew just three years earlier. After many years of praying on her behalf, the veil had been lifted, and she sought answers from me concerning Jesus and my faith in Him. When I explained the plan of Salvation, she embraced it whole-heartedly and with joy. Now she was being confronted with a detailed visual account of His passion and it shocked her. After watching it, she exclaimed, " I had no idea He went through all that!" Two years later, Aunt Gertie went to be with her Messiah. She now knows in full the significance of the price He paid for her to be reconciled to God and gain entrance into her heavenly home.
The suffering that Jesus endured was brutal. Yet He did it willingly and laid down His life for us. The most dramatic demonstration of the goodness and love of God is the sacrifice that Jesus made to deliver mankind from the penalty of sin. This same gift of forgiveness for sin and joy in heaven for all eternity is available to all who will acknowledge their need of a Savior and ask Him to come into their life.
~ Laura Allen Nonemaker
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