PART III of a four part series on The Passion of The Christ, a movie by Mel Gibson.
III of a four part series on The Passion of The Christ, a movie by Mel Gibson.(M) The head guard tells the ones doing the beating to choose another instrument of torture. They choose the flagrum.
A wooden rod with leather cords and metal hooks at the end...
The Roman soldiers tauntingly show the rods to Jesus...
Jesus says... as He looks up... "Father my heart is ready"
He repeats "My heart is ready".
Then Jesus makes eye contact with His Mother...
The Scourging continues...
13 lashes, He looks at His Mother crying
12 more lashes and His Mother and Mary Magdalene walk to another courtyard.
We can still see and hear the scourging in the background.
7 more lashes and Claudia, Pilate's wife approaches Mother Mary with some fine linen. She gives the material to Christ's Mother wordlessly and leaves.
23 more lashes
23 more lashes and the head Roman guard commands them to stop.
Just when you think that it is finally over…
He motions for them to turn Jesus over...
Then the soldiers continue the lashing...
Tearing chunks of flesh away from His sacred body, blood splattering everywhere on everyone nearby...the soldiers are in a frenzy of "lust for blood". Spurred on by the presence of Satan in the crowd.
7 more lashes and we see Satan moving (gliding) behind the crowd of onlookers and Temple guards with.. what seems to be... a child in it's arms... remember Satan is portrayed as "gender neutral", the child turns it's face toward Jesus and it looks more like a fiendish midget or a demon then a baby... "your offspring ".
Someone thought that it might be Satan’s way of saying to Jesus, that my son will be the heir of this world... going to a reference in (ME, B) Genesis 3:14 "Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
(M) 5 more lashes ... *switch scenes to the Last Supper, the washing of the feet.
(ME, B) John 13:5 "Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded."
John 15:17 This I command you, to love one another.
18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
The scourging is stopped. Jesus is dragged away to be further tormented with the "crown of thorns" and mocked by His jailers.
(M) Mother Mary walks across the stone paved yard to where her Son’s blood is accumulating in pools. She gets on her knees and begins to soak up the blood of Jesus with the fine linen that Claudia, the wife of Pilate, gave to her.
Mary Magdalene, following her example, takes off her veil to do the same.
John stands on the side with tears in his eyes, watching.
(M) The Roman guards put the crown of thorns on His head.
Mocking Him and hitting the thorns with rods.
They put a scarlet cloak on Him, for mock royalty and bow before Him in fake homage.
(ME, B) Matthew 27:28 "And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, 29 and plaiting a of crown thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head."
Jesus is silent...
(ME, B) Isaiah 53:7 "Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth."
sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth."(M) * switch scene - Mary Magdalene remembers when Jesus saves her from the stoning by the mob, when she was caught in adultery…
(ME) (in Scripture it isn't stated that it was Mary of Magdala).
(M) back to Pilate...crowd stirred up by some of the religious leaders..."crucify Him!".
(ME, B) Luke 23:22 "A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him." 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted."
(M) Pilate, fearing a revolt that would make him look bad in Rome, saw that there was no other way of placating Caiaphas the High Priest and the crowd, asked for a basin and water and washed his hands.
(ME, B) Matthew 27:24 "So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."
(M) *switch - Jesus washes His hands ... at the Last Supper .
(ME, B) John 19:17 "So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Gol'gotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them."
(M) Upon receiving His Cross, Jesus embraces it. Provoking a biting comment from one of the other prisoners, who were set to be crucified with Him; "Why do you embrace your Cross?".
(ME, B) John 10:17 "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."
(M) Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and John are there as Jesus moves on under the weight of His Cross.
The crowd sets upon Him, attacking Him, like a pack of savages.
The Roman soldiers continue to whip Him.
The scene portrayed is one of utter chaos and seemingly endless beleaguering.
*switch - Jesus is entering triumphantly into Jerusalem.
(ME, B) John 12:12 "The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" 14 And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, 15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass's colt!"
(M) as Jesus moves on carrying His Cross. His Mother moves with Him on one side of the crowd lining the Way of the Cross, the "Via Dolorosa".
Satan following on the opposite side.
Showing the complete repulsion or enmity between the him and the Blessed Mother, the New Eve.
At one point they make eye contact.
(CE) Justin (Dialog. cum Tryphone, 100).
"For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her."
(M) Mother Mary tells John to help her get near to her Son.
John quickly plans as they race ahead of the crowd by a different route.
A Roman guard knocks Jesus down.
(M) They come around to a side opening in a narrow tunnel as the "procession" is passing. John reaches the spot where Jesus will pass before the Blessed Mother, who stops and leans against a wall. He calls to her, because if she doesn't move she may miss her chance to get near to Jesus. As she leans on the wall… he calls to her; "Mother".
*switch - Mother Mary remembers Jesus as a young boy falling. In her memory she runs to Him and holds him and says..."I am here."
Jesus falls carrying His Cross just feet away from her... she hesitates. John calls her again..."Mother", she moves...she runs... to Jesus .. she embraces Him and says... "I am here".
He says to her... "see I make all things new"...
(ME, B) Revelation 21:5 And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new."
(ME) One of the Roman guards refers to Mother Mary, when he tells another guard who inquires about her; " she is the Galilean’s Mother".
(M) Along the "Way" there are women weeping.
(M) Simon the Cyrenian is forced to help Jesus carry His Cross. He is from Cyrene, a town located on the north coast of Africa.
(ME, B) Matthew 27:32 "As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyre'ne, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross."
(ME) Simon becomes an important part in the movie, whereas in Scripture he is hardly mentioned... at first he doesn't want to help and little by little he becomes concerned for Jesus and then his heart is touched by the Lord .
(M) Jesus falls the first time.
"We adore thee Oh Christ and we praise thee because by thy Holy Cross thou has redeemed the world." From the Stations of the Cross.
(M) We see a woman, in her home, with her daughter. She comes out to see what the commotion is. Veronica moves through the crowd with a cup of water. When Jesus falls a second time the crowd begins to beat Him. While the soldiers are occupied with pushing the crowd back, Veronica walks up to Him, kneels down ... she takes off her veil and offers it to Him... Jesus takes it and presses it to his bloody face... just when she offers him the cup of water a Roman guard knocks the cup out of her hands... as the scene moves on we see the face of Jesus imprinted on her veil.
(M) Simon the Cyrenian becomes upset and chases the crowd back and stops the soldiers from beating Jesus. He refuses to go on carrying the Cross unless the soldiers stop the beatings.
The Romans soldiers drunk and laughing continue their trek ...they continue their whipping and beating... whipping...women wailing...women weeping...
(ME, B) Luke 23:28 "Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children"
They reach the Gates of Jerusalem and look up to Golgotha. A formidable hill.
By this time Jesus is almost unrecognizable as a human.
(ME, B) Isaiah 53:3 "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed."
"M" for the movie
"B" is for the Bible
"ME" FOR ME - Philip Turgati
"ME, B" for I put this verse from the bible in
"CE" for Catholic Encyclopedia
"©" comments from the Passion book by Catholic Exchange or dialogue with Fr. Gabriel Ipasu.