After reading all the letters regarding “The Passion,” I, too, wanted to share some beliefs, opinions and facts. First of all, Jesus was Jewish. Most, if not all, of the Old and New Testaments were written by Jews. As a Christian, I honor and respect all Jewish people because they are still God’s chosen ones and are successful because they are blessed by God. I have been grafted into the tree. The Jews are part of the original stock.
Through reading many letters, I learned that “Passion” plays have a history of inciting anti-Semitism. How you walk away from an experience like that hating Jews is beyond me. I have never seen a Passion play. I did, however, see the “Passion” movie recently. It was everything I wanted it to be – realistic, emotional, moving, intense. As I watched, two phrases kept repeating in my mind. The first was a verse from the Bible that I paraphrased: by His stripes I am healed.” (Isaiah 53.5). The second was just two words: “I’m sorry.” Nowhere in there could I find any negative feelings toward Jews or Romans or anyone else in the world. It was just me, faced with the horrible reality that Jesus put Himself in that position for me. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15.13) I cried heavily through the last half of the film.
Unfortunately, the Christian church has a horrible history of racism. Many crimes have been committed in the name of Christ, and I have to wonder if they even knew Him, much less read His words. As for the rest of us who actually are Christians, we are an imperfect bunch. Sometimes when I see a Christian acting like a jerk (or a criminal), I want to do something about it. But every time I pick up a few rocks to set things straight, I try to remember Jesus’ words: “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.” (John 8.7) When I look at my own history, I realize that I’m not any better than anybody else in this world. That is why I need a Savior.
Andrew Ferguson