Some of my friends have asked me what I think about the movie "The Passion of Christ" and some people have asked why have we at abrahamic-faith.com not written a review for the film.  My answer was simply that I in the UK had not watched this film yet as it had not been released here. 

Last night I did get a chance to see the showing of this epic movie which has been talked about and hyped so much in the Christian and Jewish circles and my initial thoughts are:

What is Yeshua's mission on earth?  - This is absent from the film.

Why is he being beaten up to a pulp, what are the Romans trying to prove?

What was Yeshua's message?

In the end I walked away with more questions then answers and I certainly did not hear the message of the Gospel, well maybe I am being harsh on Mel but I think before any Christian brethren jump on the bandwagon on how good the movie is I need to bring in an outside review of my Muslim friend who saw the movie last week in Florida and see what his comments were from his standpoint.

These are his comments:

He said to me why was Christ crucified? 

Why are the Jews doing this?

He asked me do I think the Jews are responsible for Yeshua's death because that is what the film depicted?

He made a comment that the film was very gory and he could not watch Yeshua being beaten up extremely badly,  halfway through the film he walked out of the hall.

Lastly he said the Jews were portrayed as very very bad and evil people in the film and it will generate a lot of hatred against them i.e anti-Semitism and yet these are not my words but words of a moderate Muslim friend even he did not understand why Yeshua was being crucified, now you know why I am sad that once again the actual truthful message has been suppressed of Yeshua's mission on earth and the message of eternal salvation through him and his death on the cross followed by his resurrection and our glorious hope in eternal life through him.

I also have a Jewish friend surprise surprise who went to see the film who is not a believer and he is a very liberal Jew so much so that he does not really believe in the Jewish bible either.

He said that he felt sorry for Jesus and felt the film had strong tones of anti-Semitism but other then that he got nothing out of the film.

I can only say I saw the film full of artistic license and biblical inaccuracies, I was expecting this from Mel Gibson who being a Roman Catholic based the film on an 18th century mystical German nun Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) visions,  whose stories are the basis of some of the more stunning, non-biblical scenes.  From Yeshua's confrontation with Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane to the explicit details of his scourging by Roman guards, to a crucifixion scene in which his arm is pulled out of its socket, all these things can be read in her work.  This person Anne was also an anti-Semite off the highest order as she depicted the Jews as vile heinous creatures.  Are we surprised the anti-Semitism that the Catholic Church has been involved in the past, and how this nun's idiocy later led to the holocausts being also fuelled by the support of the RC Church.

When the Jewish people today worry about the film fuelling hatred they are actually not far wrong and are correct to note that unnecessary violence will be directed towards them for the depiction of how they had Yeshua crucified.  Yet Yeshua said "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again", John 10:17.

The film concentrates too much on the beating of Yeshua yet the director forgets the message is not how much Yeshua was beaten up but what he came for i.e the salvation of the Jews and through their rejection salvation of us the gentiles the crux of the matter is that it is not apparent in the film that he had to die and someone had to commit him to death this was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah seven hundred years before the event and it is through this one act that many people would be able to enter heaven and be able to stand in front of a holy God because the price of sin has been paid but in the film it is made to look like Yeshua a feeble man was afraid to die, did not know his mission, even Satan did not know who he is and the Jews are to blame for all that happened.

Can we not blame the Italians the British, the Germans for sending him to death all that were in the Roman Empire back then, why choose to blame just one group of people?

I will now list the inaccuracies of the Biblical accounts:

          

Film	Bible
1. Priests throw money at Judas-	The priest gave money not threw it.
2. Yeshua Crying out to father in the garden with Satan	When Satan talks to Yeshua he cries out Father Rise up and help me is not in the Bible.
3. Yeshua looks afraid -	Yeshua knew his mission was to die for our sins why would he be afraid to die when this was his mission and he knew he was going to be raised from the dead, the film makes him look very weak.
4. Yeshua faints from fear	This is not biblical, he was in agony not in fear Luke 22:44
5. Satan Asks "Who  are you"?	This has got to be a comedian take, Satan cohorts the demons know Yeshua is Son of God yet the boss himself does not know.
6. Satan holding Baby	Not in the Bible - does not mean anything, even if we use this to mean the antichrist it is not accurate as the Anti-Messiah is a person born human yet having power from Satan.
7. Snake scene and crushing of snake.	Not in the Bible
8. Romans restraint of Peter	Not accurate as they did not restraint him against a tree
9. Roman beating Yeshua from the time they take him.	Makes the Roman army look like yobs, who take pleasure in beating him yet these are highly professional soldiers who conquered the world.
10. Romans throwing Yeshua down a bridge that he lands two inches dangling from a rope.	Not in the Bible
11. Christ making of a wooden table	Not in the Bible, yes being a carpenter he could make a table but why put something in that is not in the text.
12. Peter's denial and running into Mary saying her I am not worthy mother.	Peter goes off and sees Mary and tries to make her look holy by saying "I am not worthy"
13. Little children chasing Judas as depicted as Demons	Not in the Bible
14. Pontius Pilate looked like a saint and Jews as vile	Pontius Pilate was motivated politically to crucify him in reality but in the film he is seen as the guy trying to protect Yeshua.
15. Pontius Pilate's wife Claudia giving cloth to Mary (Yeshua's mother to clean the blood on the floor)	Not in the Bible
16. Satan carrying a baby.	Not in the Bible
17. Yeshua saying a helper will come who will reveal truth.	Yeshua makes it sound like he is not the truth yet one will come who will bring truth, yet all the while Yeshua had been preaching the truth about himself and the holy spirit to come was just that a helper not one who brings new truth.
18. Yeshua saying to his father in heaven he is only son of his chosen hand maiden i.e signifying higher authority for Mary then his own and only calling himself a servant of God.	In accurate Biblical depiction, glorifying Mary.
19. Disciples calling Mary mother. Promoting the RC position of Mary being mother of God heresy.	Not in the Bible.
20. Yeshua saying see mother "I makes all things new"  out of context.	In the Bible but said out of context.  Yeshua said this after the resurrection when John saw him in his vision on Yeshua's throne Rev 21:5.
21. Romans beating him like yobs not a professional army.	Is this the same empire that ruled the world, doesn't look like it, look like Yobs Friday night on the town for a good time!
22. Simon of Cyrene refusing to carry Yeshua's cross first and no one knows who this person is as it is not stated in movie.	This is not accurate, yes Simon of Cyrene did carry the cross but did not refuse to do it and his name is not even mentioned in the movie.
23. A Jewish girl giving Yeshua a cloth to clean his face of blood which makes his face prints on the cloth, promoting the RC heresy of Shroud of Turin.	Not in the Bible
24. Yeshua nullifying himself by saying "This commandment is from my father" rather then showing his own authority as in the Biblical gospels.	Yeshua spoke in authority, not saying I did not say this etc.
25. John 14:6 out of context, saying to his disciples "you know I am the way, the truth and the life".	Make it sound like only the disciples knew him,  what about the multitude who followed him and believed on him for his claims which in essence are he is the only way to heaven.
26. Yeshua full of blood flesh cut up badly yet the other two robbers clean	We see Yeshua is beaten red and blue but the two robbers who were in fact criminals were clean no blood, nothing on them yet they were also crucified.
27. Mary asking to die with him	Not in the Bible
28.  It is accomplished.	Yeshua said "It is finished" a tad different from accomplished, accomplished what?  Yeshua said FINISHED (John 19:30) meaning we humans do not have to add anything to his work, accomplished could be construed to mean his part is accomplished and we also have to accomplish something i.e the Roman Catholic Angle per usual.
29. Darkness only for a few minutes	Darkness fell on the earth for three whole hours biblically (Matt 27:45)  yet this is not shown e.g from 12pm to 3pm.
30. One Roman soldier trying to break his bones with a hammer.	Not in the Bible
31. Body taken down and given to Mary.	Not in the Bible, it was Joseph of Arimathaea (John 19:38) who went later to claim the body, not even shown in the film.
32. His resurrection was only shown in the tomb but nothing else	Again miniscule detail yet this is the biggest portion of his truth in order to defeat death and Satan.

 

If we see the list above we realise how much artistic licence is in the film and it tries to derail the purposes of Yeshua coming to die on the cross for the sins of the world.  He is the lamb of God, he qualifies himself that he is God i.e calling himself Son of God making himself equal to God claiming to have God's nature but the person they depict in the movie is scared, weak and almost points himself as a mere servant and nothing more. 

I would say that this movie will generate debate and discussions and can be used for God's work but any non Christian seeing this film is not going to know way of salvation or get the full gospel message since I as a Bible believing Christian had confusion from the film and questions to ask then what would someone else who has no spiritual enlightenment think?