Favorite Post #4. The Passion of the Christ.
Mar 26th by Jon
I had an easier time connecting with God in the movie, “Man on Fire” than I did in “The Passion of the Christ.” That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I mean the Mel Gibson movie made roughly 786 gazillion dollars and was loved by Christians the world over. Man on Fire is a bloody revenge film with very little God. How can I write that first sentence?
I think that the God element in Man on Fire was a strong undercurrent that caught me off guard. It surprised me and engaged me in an unexpected way. I enjoyed the Passion of the Christ. I thought it was good. But I went in expecting God and faith and Christianity. So when it appeared I was ready for it. And in communication, one of the ways to grab someone is to show instead of tell. Instead of saying, “this character is cool” in a movie, you show the audience tangible ways that exhibit how the character is cool. That way, the audience gets to write their own story instead of just digesting your story. Man on Fire showed me God’s love, the Passion of the Christ told me God’s love. But that still doesn’t really justify thinking Man on Fire is a better picture of Christ than the Passion of the Christ. So let me explain a little, but please know I am about to ruin the end of Man on Fire.
In the film, Denzel Washington plays the role of Creasy, an alcoholic black ops military man in Mexico City serving as a bodyguard for a little girl named Pita. Pita is a blonde sprite of a seven-year-old played by the ubiquitous Dakota Fanning. Throughout the first half of the film we watch as Creasy hits rock bottom, only to find a new reason to live in Pita. Along the way, we see him spend increasing amounts of time in the Bible.
But because this is at the core a revenge film, Pita is kidnapped after a piano lesson. Creasy is shot multiple times and the doctors say that without a month of rest, he will die. While Creasy is trapped in bed, Pita is executed by the kidnappers. He is devastated, his world collapsing in memories of Pita laughing and playing. He leaves the hospital and decides to track down the killers.
In a hinge scene, the young mother of Pita asks Creasy what he is going to do. His response is simple, “What I do best, I’m going to kill em. Anyone that was involved, anyone that profited from it, anyone that opens their eyes at me.” This statement serves as the doorway to a veritable house of pain and suffering. The violence is shocking in both its graphicness and its creativity.
At this point, my initial idea that I saw the love of Christ in this movie seems impossible. We do not serve a God that would torture a man with a cigarette lighter or plant a plastic explosive inside another kidnapper. Our God is not cruel. I think that’s worthy of argument though, at least from an Old Testament point of view. Would the Egyptian mothers that woke to find their first born children dead in their beds agree that God can not be cruel? Would the residents of Sodom, with flesh ripped apart by sulfur falling from the sky agree that God is not violent? I’m not saying these things were not justified. I just think that maybe we make too light of the fury and might of God.
After cutting a swath of death through Mexico City, Creasy finds the pregnant wife and brother of the villain, simply referred to as “The Voice.” The Voice asks him on the phone, “How much do you want?” Creasy responds by saying “Your brother wants to speak to you, hold on” at which point he shoots off all the fingers of the brother’s hand with a shotgun. “I’m going to take your family apart piece by piece. You understand me? Piece by piece. I don’t want your money. You understand me? I want you!” It’s numbing really, the brother tied up to a pole with a bloody stump of a hand, the pregnant wife wailing. But that’s when grace first makes an appearance. The Voice calls back and says “I will give you a life for a life. I will give you her life for your life.”
The camera spins on a confused Creasy as he struggles with the idea that Pita is still alive. Suddenly the violence, the rage, the wrath of Creasy sinks out of his face. In the final scene, Creasy, Pita’s mother and the kidnapper’s brother drive to an abandoned bridge in the middle of the Mexican countryside. With a bullet ridden body and a weariness that is almost three dimensional, Creasy walks up the bridge. When the kidnappers see him waiting there, they pull a hooded Pita out of the car. They remove her dirty blindfold and with eyes not accustomed to light, she squints toward the bridge. With the sound of a child witnessing an unlocked gate in hell, she screams “Creasy” and runs to the bridge. Creasy, unable to run from all the pain, waits. She jumps into his arms, and with hands dotted with blood and scars he cradles her. This is what follows:
Creasy: “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you?”
Pita: Shakes her head no.
Creasy: Laughing and smiling in relief, “Hi.” More laughter. “Alright your mother is waiting for
you; she’s right down at the end of the bridge. OK, you go home.”
Pita: “OK. Where are you going?”
Creasy: “I’m going home too.”
Pita runs to the arms of her mother. A red laser scope lands on Creasy’s heart, which he covers with a hand that is covered in scars. He throws up his hands and walks slowly to the kidnappers. He stumbles to his knees as they drag him into a car. Pita cries watching Creasy surrender to certain death. Creasy closes his eyes in the car and dies.
I missed it the first ten times I saw the movie. Missed that I’m Pita. I’ve lived most of my life under the stairs in a dark, dirty cage. But unlike Pita, this is the place I deserve. For although she did not ask to be kidnapped or receive this experience as a consequence of her actions, I did. If this were the story of my life, justice would have already been served. The prisoner’s life is the life I deserve. But God is like Creasy. In Isaiah 30:18 it says “he rises to show you compassion.”
The new life that Creasy finds when he meets Pita is but a glimpse at how God delights in us. And it is this love, this affection that drives Him to rescue us. But is He violent? Is there anything He wouldn’t do to rescue me and rescue you? I don’t think so. To the violence question we need only look to verses like Numbers 24:8 in which the Israelites, God’s people, are said to “devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces.” That was describing work and battles that the Lord had blessed.
Is that any less graphic than anything that happens in “Man on Fire?” God’s love has no limits. If violence is what it would take to rescue me, I have little doubt that He would be violent. That He would remove an entire planet in a flood to save the righteous family of Noah. And even though He is blessed with the ability to open the core of the earth with His fury, it is love and ultimate surrender that shows us the true depth of His heart. In the movie, Creasy could have easily continued killing the kidnapper’s family. The brother could have been tortured, the pregnant wife and unborn child of the kidnapper murdered. But it wasn’t about revenge, it was about rescue. And when Pita was discovered to be alive, he stopped everything. He surrendered and walked willingly into a certain death.
In his last moments, before the cross, the undeniable power of Christ is revealed one more time as he heals one of the Roman guard’s ears. And yet he denies it. He surrenders to his captors. That’s how I felt about the last scene in Man on Fire. Creasy had just blown off all the fingers of the brother. He had the pregnant wife and a shotgun and a mouth full of loud, angry words. But the second he knew Pita was alive, he surrendered.
I’ve written about it before because the scene really shook me. It made me realize, this is the Christ I serve. Powerful, fearful, able to heal the sick and blind, capable of walking on water itself. But willing to give it all up upon realizing I am found. Willing to pay the ransom with his own life. Willing to free me from a prison of my own design. And whether he’s crucified on a cross or forced to walk across a bridge in Mexico, he’s willing to do it all over again for me. And for you.
p.s. I liked Passion. I thought it was a well done movie. The most powerful scene to me was when Gibson showed the boy Jesus and the man Jesus stumble to the ground. My one criticism is that it felt really full. I like movies that leave me room to climb in and Passion felt bursting at the seams so it was hard for me to engage with it in some scenes.
Comments
great post jon. incredible.
wow. that was, like woah. to the max extreme.
i think i’m going to go out and buy some skittles and meditate on that one for awhile. wait, i’m in france. they don’t have skittles here. all well. great post.
I will completely agree with the earlier comments. I have not seen “Man on Fire” but will surely look for it as soon as I can. Even still I could depict the final scene and see the link to a God that is willing to do anything to save us. Please keep up the good work, Jon.
I will react to the post in a minute but I need to get something straight first.
Andrea B.,
They don’t have skittles in France? I’ve always wanted to visit but I’m not sure I can go to a country that doesn’t even sell skittles. It’s not like I’m addicted or anything it is just the idea that I don’t have the option to taste the rainbow. Can anyone please verify that the entire country has banned the tasting of rainbows?
Now regarding the post,
I like to use movies to help the Youth grasp concepts. I’d love to use this movie but I’ve seen it and … well I guess I’ll have to talk about it rather than show it. I remember really enjoying it but also not buying it because it pushed the edge of what I’m willing to own (and my standards are not that high).
Of course the illustration is great and with that in hand I might pick it up if I see it in a $5 special. I’m just saying.
i’m in tears…
one of my favorite movies. i’ll confess that i didn’t watch it with the same eyes; while i loved the exchanges between creasy and pita the whole way through the movie, i never looked at the rescue that way before. i’ll have to watch it again soon.
thanks for reminding us- you’re right, we do take the fury and violence of god lightly; there’s no length he wont go to in order to rescue his children and accomplish his purposes. and its the best thing in the world to know that we have that kind of love on our side.
one of my favorite movies… “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”
both were great movies, but I think “Passion of the Christ” was a bandwagon film. not sure if Gibson intended it to be that way, but I just think that the Christian community ran away with it.
This is in the top 3 of all posts you ever wrote for me. It validated me in ways no one else had and showed me a glimpse of the beautiful chaos in your head. Favorite movie; favorite post; favorite blog. I applaud the gifts God has given you Jon.
For anyone who cares, my other 2 faves are the one on saving sex until marriage Prince style (I printed it out and will give to my daughters when the time is right) and Shining your scars. Grace & Peace SCL World, daphne
This is one of the best things you have ever shared here. Thank you.
Before I read past your first sentence I whole-heartedly agreed. The Passion of the Christ was a frustrating movie about a man being beaten and tortured. Man on Fire was a deeply moving story about a man willing to sacrifice absolutely anything for someone he loved. The former had a what. The latter had a why. I most certainly saw God more in the second movie than I ever will in the first. Great post.
Jon, you have nailed this one, and I am sitting here just absolutely full after reading this post.
Blessings.
I love how the title of the post is both misleading and ultimately perfect for the subject of Man on Fire.
I may never actually see Man on Fire, though. I’m a wimp when it comes to violent films. I’d end up watching the entire thing thru my fingers.
Love the illustration of God’s passion for me though.
In the future you may want to consider a “spoiler alert” on posts like this one. Just a thought. Keep up the great blogging!
emmysue –
I totally agree with you which is why in this post I wrote:
“but please know I am about to ruin the end of Man on Fire.”
I’m with you about spoilers. I was a big fan of that movie and would have been bummed if I knew the outcome. (But admittedly, that post is really long and my short sentence might have been easy to miss)
Thanks
Jon
Yeah – spoliers…. hrmph
“In his last moments before the cross”….
Way to go… you just spoilt the plot of Passion….
Sorry… Seriously tho, I love this post. I’ve not actually seen either movie, but I’m going to have to see Man on Fire.
Great one, Jon. You da man, and you on FIya.
Oh, now I have to see Man on Fire. And then I’ll have to repent for watching a violent movie. And I won’t even touch the wv today.
you forget to mention the best line of the movie:
Christopher Walken says “Creasy’s art is death, and he’s about to paint his masterpiece…”
Man on Fire was a really well done movie, and i don’t think the religious undertones were coincidental.
The Passion was amazing too, but how much better would it be if Denzel Washington played Jesus? And maybe Christopher Walken could be Peter or something.
Great movie. Great post. I will never watch it the same again. Thanks for this.
Oh – and it definitely needs to make the book..
What an amazing parallel that I never would have drawn on my own. Thank you so much for sharing yet another way for us to try wrapping our minds around Christ’s incredible love for us.
Thank you.
My husband and I have read a book (I forget the name and author) that reminds us that God is not always fluffy baby bunnies and spring time leaping lambs but that He is fierce in His love and protection of His people. God literally stopped time so that His battles could be won. He made the sun move backwards to protect His children. The children of Israel have never been nor will ever be defeated.
Kind of makes the song “what a mighty God we serve” mean a little more, huh?
I feel like my spirit just ate a steak dinner with two sides and dessert.
I’ve watched that movie a couple of times, and never really realized why it affected me the way it did, and this post seals it.
Yep, that made me cry, and made me want to watch the movie again. Violence for the sake of violence, I don’t condone. Violence needed to drive home a vital point, worthy. Fantastic post!!
I absolutely LOVE this post! So often I see or hear God in movies and music that most would say have *nothing* to do with God. It’s awesome to know that I’m not the only one who gets those “aha” moments when a character in a violent movie symbolizes Christ, or when an amazing secular song reminds me of how beautiful God is! Thanks for sharing, and this was a great BDay present for me
I haven’t seen Man on Fire, and really wasn’t interested until Chandler’s comment. Christopher Walken seals the deal.
I do have to make a comment on The Passion, though, for those that would disregard it as a Christian in-flick.
I wasn’t a Christian when that film came out, and a friend of mine invited me to go with him to a screening that his church was hosting. Totally hokey, right? I went and didn’t surrender my life that day, but it seriously opened my eyes and brought me face-to-face with that fork in the road that we all come to.
By contrast, while I enjoy Christian under-currents in films, I doubt a non-Christian would see a movie like Man on Fire and think, “Wow. That really speaks of God’s love for me. Even though I don’t believe in God. I’m going to reconsider now.”
= 2 cents.
Wow, seriously.
VERY VERY VERY violent movie, but the connotations of a “life for life” trade on that bridge, the just/innocent for the unjust/guilty, is truly unmistakeable, if as you point out not the perfect 1:1 analogy to scripture. Awesome.
I love movies when God show up unexpectantly. Like Stranger than Fiction or Shawshank. Good one Jon.
I’d never thought of that movie that way before. Until now, I’d always felt a little guilty for liking it so much. I guess that’s what I felt, though. I’ve always thought that we don’t put enough emphasis on the fear of God. Yes, fear means respect, but it also means FEAR for crying out loud! There is the very real aspect of God that is wrathful at us for being so sinful. This is what makes it so moving for me to think of Christ as my hiding place. God made a way for me to hide in Himself from His own wrath at me. Amazing.
Additionally, you don’t even really have to focus on the OT to see this side of God. The whole NT is the expression of that very first promise “you shall bruise his heel, but He shall crush your head.” That sounds pretty violent to me. All the way from Genesis when God promises to crush our sin and our adversary into a bloody pulp, to The Revelation when “the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever,” we see that God opposes rebellion with extreme violence.
This should lead any person to consider themselves as “sinners in the hands of an angry God.” This should be a terrifying proposition; God is not one with whom to trifle. The very next thought, however, should lead to “peace that passes all understanding” and all manner of rejoicing to see that Christ received all of that wrath so that we don’t have to endure ANY of it at all. Christ, the magnificent and glorious Son of God, became sin for us, so that we might receive the righteousness of God. Praise be to the God who Loves.
Dude…I love that connection too…thank you for writing it down. Loved the movie and the symbolism between Creasy and Christ. Just awesome
You should see Grand Torino too.
I never saw “The Passion…” I thought it was an embarrassment to the Christian community.
crickets
If you’re still with me, I love movies and can’t help but find theological themes in every one of them (because doing theology is common to all of us). Some of my favorites for reflection are:
Gandhi (1982, Ben Kingsley version)
A beautifully crafted vision of the suffering servant. Try it on for size.
Norma Rae (1979)
Wanna see one person make a difference despite great opposition and hardship? Wanna see what it might look like to serve the poor, the orphan, and the widow?
The Story of Us (1999)
This is what it looks like to hold a marriage together for the long haul. Every married person I know (married over 15 years) can relate to this film. Tons of theological reflection fodder.
Dr. Who: The Last of the Time Lords (2007)
Okay, this is television, but still. Dr. Who is awesome, and this particular episode (the last installment of a three-parter) has some really great imagery of evangelism and storytelling (e.g., the Gospel) as an effective means for planting seeds of transformation and building communities with a shared vision.
Adam Sandler generally has good themes too. Seriously.
The Truth and Love of God is everywhere. It’s nice to see a man who find the depths of God’s love in other things.
I stopped watching Man on Fire after the first time Creasy was violent… I wish I’d kept watching.
Thank you SO MUCH for that – the issue of God’s violence in the OT has been bothering me for a while, and I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve heard someone venturing an explanation that doesn’t seem like a major cop-out, that made some sense, and that took God’s incredible love into account. A BIG thank you.
I don’t think I can explain how amazing this post is. I’m at a loss for words, because you and the commenters have stolen them right out from under my fingertips.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for opening my eyes to a new way that God loves me.
I always liked Man on Fire, and thought maybe I was crazy for seeing the beauty in that movie. I haven’t seen it multiple times but now I realize that the beauty is there because it’s so like the beauty of God. Wonderful post. Brilliant.
Beautiful post, Jon. And please re-post Daphne’s other two faves!
Wow! I loved that movie too. That was an awesome description of why. I didn’t exactly know why I liked that movie so much until I read that!
Wow- my word verification is “cries”
I would never compare the two movies, though. Passion was awesome. It makes the story of the passion come alive. There’s no comparison, and to me no need to compare.
Wow. I will never watch that movie the same way again. Thanks for writing and reposting this.
“Taken” could be viewed allegorically too.
DD
I’ve always loved this movie. Each time it comes on tv, I’m compelled to watch it all over again. I’m glad and very thankful to see images of our Warrior God in everyday films. I hate gratuitous violence, but I also, hate things that don’t appear “real”. Your commentary was beautiful. Makes me want to fall on my face before our Lord and worship Him. He fought for me!
Great review man! I love your interpretation, gonna have to check that movie out again!
Have you seen “Thin Red Line”?
The whole movie is narrated by a guy who is in deep conversation with God. Thank you for sharing your blog I just stumbled upon it following my son’s link. PM