The Passion, What Mel Gibson Didn’t Tell You

This sermon was prepared and preached by Pastor Mike Rose at First Federated Church in Des Moines, Iowa, on
Sunday, March 23, 2008.
Copyright © 2008, First Federated Church

In 2004 the block buster film The Passion of The Christ was released and the interest in that film was
over-the-top. In the first five days of its release, it earned $25 million a day, ultimately grossing over $611
million worldwide.

According to Gibson, the movie was about “… love, hope, faith, and forgiveness. The world has gone
nuts. We could all use a little more love, faith, hope, and forgiveness.”

Gibson went on to say, “It was me that put Him on the cross. It was my sins […that put Him there].”
Based on that quote, it’s interesting to note that in the movie, as the “Jesus character” was being nailed to
the cross, the hands that held the hammer and drove the nails, were Gibson’s.

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are events that have fascinated humanity since they took place.
Although some deny that either actually happened, most people seem to accept, as fact, that a man named
Jesus was crucified by the Roman government 2000 years ago. And for many, His subsequent
resurrection is also accepted as fact. What seems to be lacking is an accurate understanding of WHY?
And what it means to us 2000 years later.

On this Easter Sunday, based upon the record of the Bible, I want to answer both questions.

So for a moment I want us to go beyond the brutality of His crucifixion and lay aside the joy of His
resurrection, to address the questions WHY and What it means today.

I. Why – three reasons provided from the Bible.

1. It was the predetermined plan of God. Some may find this hard to believe, but Jesus’ crucifixion was
no accident. It was not Satan winning over God; it was not Jesus getting caught in the wrong place at the
wrong time. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was planned by God before Jesus came to this
world – in fact, before the world was even made.

Acts 2:22-24 – New Living Translation (NLT), the Apostle Peter is speaking - 22“People of Israel, listen!
God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through Him,
as you well know. 23But you followed God’s prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you
nailed Him to the cross and murdered Him. 24However, God released Him from the horrors of death and
raised Him back to life again, for death could not keep Him in its grip.

1 Peter 1:18-20 – NLT - 18For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you
inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. 19He paid for you
with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20God chose Him for this purpose
long before the world began, but now in these final days, He was sent to the earth for all to see. And He
did this for you.

WHY was Jesus Crucified? In part, because God planned and predetermined it would happen.

That brings up this question: Why would God do such a thing to His own Son?

The Passion, What Mel Gibson Didn’t Tell You | FFC | 03.23.2008 1
2. Because of man’s sin. The fact that the human race is contaminated by sin is unpleasant to admit, but
true nonetheless. However, the question isn’t whether or not man is a sinner, but how did this happen?

The Bible tells us that when God created man (Adam), he was perfect and sinless. “Created In God’s
own image” (Genesis 1:26). And God gave him the entire earth to enjoy and manage. Only one thing
was withheld, the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 1:16-17, NLT, “You
may freely eat any fruit in the garden 17except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you
eat of its fruit, you will surely die.”

The Bible teaches us that the death God was talking about was twofold. One part had to do with man’s
spirit, his relationship to God. The second, with man’s physical life. We don’t know how long Adam and
Eve lived on the earth before they disobeyed God, but in time, they ate the forbidden fruit, and when they
did, their relationship with God was broken. This is known as spiritual death.

And because of their sin, Adam and Eve eventually experienced physical death, something that has been
a part of the human experience ever since.

This is important, don’t miss it – after Adam and Eve became sinners, they had children and their
children were born with their parents sin nature. Subsequently, they committed their own personal sins. In
fact, Cain, Adam’s first child, committed the first murder when he killed his brother Able over a dispute
about proper worship, (Genesis 4).

Now you may be asking, what’s the relevance of this to me? Each of us is a descendent of Adam and
Eve, and through our parents, we receive their sin nature. Subsequently we commit our own personal sins.
Thus we inherit the consequence for sin: “DEATH.” Romans 5:12, NLT, - 12When Adam sinned, sin
entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone
sinned.

Adam’s sin didn’t affect only him, it affected all who would come through him, and that includes you
and me.

So what does this have to do with WHY Jesus was Crucified? Sin demands death, and because God is
just, He must carry out that sentence upon us, because we’ve sinned against Him. But knowing that we
would sin against Him, and that death would be our sentence, God purposed to provide a way for our sins
to be paid for by a “SUBSTITUTE.” That “substitute” was Jesus, God’s own Son.

That is why Jesus came into this world. He willingly took upon Himself human flesh and came to this
world to take our death sentence upon Himself.

That is what the cross is about. On the cross, the Son of God took our place and our sin upon Himself.
He did this to satisfy God’s righteous judgment against sin.

1 Corinthians 5:21, New King James Version (NKJV), 21For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no
sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1 Peter 2:24, NLT, 24He (Jesus) personally carried away our sins in His own body on the cross so we can
be dead to sin and live for what is right.

God sent Jesus to pay the debt of our sin so that we could be released from the guilt and penalty of our sin
and become clean before God .

The Passion, What Mel Gibson Didn’t Tell You | FFC | 03.23.2008 2
Romans 5:15, NLT, says, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ,
brought forgiveness to many through God’s bountiful gift.

Why did Jesus endure the Cross?

1. It was the pre-ordained plan of God

2. Because of man’s sin

3. God’s Great love for us. Romans 5:8, NLT, 8But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ
to die for us while we were still sinners.

I’ve asked myself many times; why would God love a person like me and willingly sacrifice His own Son
to save me? I’ve not found the answer yet, but I’m so glad He did, and I accept the answer He gives, that
it was motivated by love. Jesus took the punishment for my sin, for me, so that I could be made right
with God and He did it because God loves me.

And the Good News is He loves you, too, and the forgiveness and freedom that I’ve received is available
to all who will look to Christ by faith.

Friends, when I look back to the cross and contemplate the sacrifice of Jesus and His resurrection, I don’t
see a poor man being brutalized. Rather, I see:

• The plan of God

• My sin
• The love of God for sinners

But there’s one more thing I see, and it answers question No. 2 – what does it mean for us today?

II. What does the crucifixion and resurrection mean for us today?

The opportunity to be forgiven and possess eternal life.

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you came from, or what you’ve done, the work of Jesus on the
cross is sufficient to cover all your sin. And what’s even better, God’s desire is for all to receive this gift
of love.

2 Peter 3:9, NKJV, The Lord… is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance.

Many times in my ministry I’ve shared the true story of a man called Ricky who lived in Brooklyn, New
York.. What a mess Ricky’s life had become. He got involved in homosexuality, drug abuse, prostitution.

Truthfully, most of us would not care if this man would have perished, but God cared, and through Jesus
Christ, God transformed Ricky the mess into Ricky a trophy of grace.

I share this because it helps us see that God’s love and grace through Jesus has no limits or boundaries – it
can touch and change a sinner, and forgive any and all sin.

The Passion, What Mel Gibson Didn’t Tell You | FFC | 03.23.2008 3
And that’s what the crucifixion and resurrection mean to us today. They mean we don’t have to live
under the domination of sin, and that we don’t have to live with an eternal-death sentence.

Instead, through the power of Christ, we can be transformed from sinners to saints and from a sentence
of eternal death to the glorious expectation of eternal life.

So, how does one receive God’s gift of forgiveness, life-transformation, and eternal life?

Romans 10:9-13, NLT, 9For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is by believing in your heart that you are
made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11As the Scriptures tell
us, “Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12Jew and Gentile are the same in this
respect. They all have the same Lord, who generously gives His riches to all who ask for them. 13For
“Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I am confident that each of us knows we are sinners. Right now if you will allow it, you can recall various
sins that you have personally committed throughout your life. Those sins separate you from God if they
have not been covered by the sacrifice of Christ.

But if by faith you will confess your sin, trusting in the sacrifice Jesus made for you on the cross and in
His resurrection from the dead, then your sins will be forgiven. You will become a child of God and
nothing can every separate you from God’s love again.

Conclusion

The question is, have you trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord?

Understand, I’m not asking if you believe in God, or if you are a member of a church, or if you believe
the Bible is God’s Word. Those are all good things, but if you have not repented of your sins, trusting in
Jesus as Savior and Lord, then you are still lost in your sins.

If you’ve not taken this step of faith, I invite you today to do so. Right now I want to pray for you and
then invite those who would like pray with me a prayer of faith, asking God to apply the sacrifice and
resurrection of Jesus to your life, to come and let’s pray together.

Prayer and Invitation

Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner, by faith I turn from my sin to you. I ask that you forgive my sin,
and save my soul, make me your child I pray, I offer my life to you. Amen

The First Federated Church copyright, above, is for the sermon itself, not for any items quoted in the sermon, unless otherwise
stated. All quoted items are done so in good faith, and the source is attributed when it is known.

The Passion, What Mel Gibson Didn’t Tell You | FFC | 03.23.2008 4