"...he (Gibson) said the wounds of Christ healed his wounds. And I think the film expresses that." - James Cazievel
The country—first-century Judea, the early 21st's Israel—is part of the Roman Empire. The prefect, Pontius Pilate, is Caesar's ranking representative in the province, a place riven with fierce religious disputes. Jesus comes from Galilee, a kind of backwater; as a Jewish healer and teacher, he has attracted great notice in the years, months and days leading up to this hour.
His popularity seemed to be surging among at least some of the thousands of pilgrims gathered in the city for Passover. Crowds cheered him, proclaiming him the Messiah, which to first-century Jewish ears meant he was the "king of the Jews" who heralded the coming of the Kingdom of God, a time in which the yoke of Roman rule would be thrown off, ushering in an age of light for Israel. Hungry for liberation and deliverance, some of those in the teeming city were apparently flocking to Jesus,
threatening to upset the delicate balance of power in Jerusalem.
The priests responsible for the Temple had an understanding with the Romans: the Jewish establishment would do what it could to keep the peace, or else Pilate would strike. And so the high priest, Caiaphas, dispatches a party to arrest Jesus. Guided by Judas, they find him in Gethsemane. In the language of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, there is this exchange: "Whom do you seek?" Jesus asks. "Jesus of Nazareth." The answer comes quickly. "I am he."
 Thus begins the final chapter of the most influential story in Western history. For Christians, the Passion—from the Latin passus, the word means "having suffered" or "having undergone"—is the very heart of their faith. Down the ages, however, when read without critical perspective and a proper sense of history, the Christian narratives have sometimes been contorted to lay the responsibility for Jesus' execution at the feet of the Jewish people, a contortion that has long fueled the fires of anti-Semitism.
Into this perennially explosive debate comes a controversial movie directed by Mel Gibson, "The Passion of the Christ," a powerful and troubling work about Jesus' last hours.
"The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film," Gibson has said. The movie, which was scheduled for release on Ash Wednesday, has provoked a pitched battle between those who think the film unfairly blames the Jewish people for Jesus' death and those who are instead focused on Gibson's emotional depiction of Jesus' torment. "It is as it was," the aged Pope John Paul II is said to have remarked after seeing the film, and Billy Graham was so moved by a screening that he wept. One can see why these supremely gifted pastors were impressed, for Gibson obviously reveres the Christ of faith, and much of his movie is a literal-minded rendering of the most dramatic passages scattered through the four Gospels.
Gibson is an ultraconservative Roman Catholic, a traditionalist who does not acknowledge many of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). He favors the Latin mass, does not eat meat on Fridays and adheres to an unusually strict interpretation of Scripture and doctrine—a hard-line creed he grew up with and rediscovered about a dozen years ago.
"He began meditating on the passion and the death of Jesus," James Caviezel, the actor who plays Jesus in "The Passion," told Newsweek. "In doing so, he said the wounds of Christ healed his wounds. And I think the film expresses that." | | Caleb Deschanel photographs The Passion of the Christ |
Director Mel Gibson has taken his share of hits for daring to tackle the death of Jesus Christ on film, but so far he has escaped the wrath of religious watchdogs for a minor "act of heresy" that has somehow eluded their scrutiny: hiring a Quaker to serve as his cinematographer. "It's true, I was brought up as a Quaker," admits director of photography Caleb Deschanel, ASC. "The Quaker religion does not have priests or people in charge. Basically, everybody is equal, and you believe in the supreme being of your own thought process - whatever your own invention is. You just sort of let your conscience be your guide."
Although he "really didn't have a background in Catholicism at all," Deschanel nonetheless found Gibson's The Passion of the Christ to be an intellectually, emotionally and artistically compelling project, and he lent the picture an outsider's eye for detail. "I've always been fascinated by religions because of the rituals, the ceremonies and the imagery. I find places of worship to be very beautiful and inspiring, whether they're churches, synagogues, mosques or temples. I'm drawn to those places because they offer images that have a certain power and majesty. When you go to St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, you can't help but be awed by it. The biggest problem I have with religions is that they inevitably become politicized, but I do find religion's symbolism, imagery and metaphors to be really attractive and interesting."
Deschanel had worked with Gibson on Roland Emmerich's The Patriot, which earned the cinematographer an ASC Award and an Academy Award nomination. Deschanel was working in Montreal when Gibson and producer Steve McEveety sent him the script for The Passion of the Christ. "I thought the script was amazing," he recalls. "I gave it to my wife, who was brought up Catholic, and she was really moved by it as well. I subsequently had long talks with Mel and Steve about how the film would be done, and they asked me to do it."
The result is a unique and powerful film that depicts the events of the Passion with uncompromising rawness and intensity. The viewer is thrust directly into the drama via perspectives that have the intimacy of cinema verite, but the film also depicts the tale's most famous moments in compositions that evoke the spirit of great religious paintings.
Deschanel took time to discuss The Passion of the Christ with fellow ASC member John Bailey and American Cinematographer executive editor Stephen Pizzello at the ASC Clubhouse.
John Bailey, ASC: I attended a screening of the film with several other people at the Icon Productions offices in Santa Monica, and when the lights came up, nobody moved for about 90 seconds. We were immobilized. I finally stood up and kind of slithered out of the room. I was so far beyond thinking of it as a movie because I was raised as a strict Catholic, and watching this film was like having all of those weekly examinations of conscience and confession, as well as the whole Passion week and Easter rite, come to life before my eyes. I felt like I was seeing the iconography of my childhood - all of the representations that I eventually came to know as art - unfold onscreen in an excoriating way. I was totally unprepared for something that would cause such a visceral reaction in me. Virtually none of the films made about the life of Christ or the Passion have been as raw as this one.
Caleb Deschanel, ASC: That's also true of much of the art that's been passed down through the years, even the works that were commissioned by the Catholic Church. None of it really depicts [details] of the flagellation and the other violence that was done. I did a lot of research going into this film, and I didn't find much imagery like that. There are things in the film that you can find in certain artistic representations, but it's rare to see images of Christ with severe wounds from the flagellation. One Caravaggio painting shows him with faint marks on his body, but most of the images that represent the later stages of his story do not show those wounds clearly.
Bailey: Well, Caravaggio's representations are more refined, but you see a lot more of the flagellation in Spanish and southern Italian art.
Deschanel: In art that was made prior to the 13th century, too, you see a lot more representations of that, but at some point the images became cleansed. The way the story has been represented is very interesting.
Bailey: Something you said to me on the phone struck me as very interesting, especially coming from your perspective as a humanist rather than as an adherent to some branch of Christianity. If I understood you correctly, you didn't approach this film so much in terms of the religiosity or spirituality of the story, but more in terms of the human Christ. I believe you referred to him as a revolutionary - an outcast and a controversial political figure. The thing I find so fascinating about the film is that it doesn't create any sense of this imminent religious and supernatural being; its treatment of the story is incredibly human, even more so than Pasolini's The Gospel According to St. Matthew.
Deschanel: I really did read the script as a dramatic story, and I thought about how it would work as a film. Certainly, Christians know the story of Christ, and most others do because it's hard to escape - at least in the United States - during particular times of the year. But while I knew Christ was condemned and crucified, I didn't really understand the ultimate message of the story.
Viewing it as a dramatic film, I found the story to be the antithesis of your average Hollywood film. In the typical American film about someone who is oppressed by tyranny, there's a clear-cut formula: the hero will escape and rally his friends, and then they'll gather weapons and go kill the bad guys. The catharsis for the audience [comes] when the horrible villain is finally killed.
Christ's story, on the other hand, is about someone who recognizes that his fate is predetermined - that he's going to be condemned and killed - and totally accepts it. And once he accepts it, he views everyone who comes into his life as someone to forgive. In doing so, he imparts this understanding to everyone around him - his mother, the apostles, Mary Magdalene - in a way that makes them accept the trials that he has to endure. It's a phenomenal concept, which is probably why Christianity has survived for all of these years. Christianity may have lost its way during the Crusades, the Reformation and all of the horrible scandals of today, but it still has that amazing story at its core.
Of course, the story in this film is really pre-religion; it inspired a religion, but it's not a religious story. It's the story of a person whose power comes from forgiveness. Ultimately, if the movie works, that will be the reason, because it's a violent and brutal picture in so many ways. Violence can be hard to take in many types of films, but the main character in this film is not condemning the people who are doing these terrible things to him, and this fact tends to soften the horrible violence.
Bailey: The way you photographed the film makes it more visceral and difficult to watch, but also more compelling. I felt a constant tension throughout the movie, this sense of being pulled into the action because of the way the camera is used. I also felt repelled and horrified because I felt so close to what was happening onscreen. In most of the films I've seen about this subject, you really sense the proscenium; there's a sense that the scenes are being reenacted out there, amid grand settings, in front of you, sitting here, as a member of the audience. You didn't use a handheld camera the way Pasolini did, but I still felt very close to the action. I felt like I was in the arena when Pilate hands Christ over to the Roman soldiers, who later tie him down and really tear him apart. I felt so close to these things, so present, that it was just horrifying. Can you talk a bit about your inspirations for the look of the film?
Deschanel: There's been a lot of talk about Caravaggio inspiring the look because Mel and I both really like his work. In Rome, where we were shooting, there are at least 16 Caravaggios; there were three [each depicting scenes from the life of St. Matthew] hanging in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, which is near where I was living in Rome, and there were a couple more in the immediate vicinity. Unlike Girl With a Pearl Earring, though, we weren't really trying to reenact specific paintings. Caravaggio's work inspired the film as much in terms of the faces he used in those paintings as it did in terms of the lighting and composition. Those faces probably inspired the casting of the film. I keep looking at all the faces that were found by Mel and the casting director, Shaila Rubin, and they're really quite extraordinary.
The look was also inspired by Gericault, Raphael and other artists. I studied art history in school, and I've been to a lot of museums, and the paintings that really interest me are the ones that feature good performances. I'm drawn to that element even more than I am to the graphics or the lighting. What I took from the paintings was not so much a specific way of representing light or creating compositions, but more emotional content. For example, Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa has a certain motion toward defeat and inevitable death. Mel's desire to capture that type of emotion is what made us go right in close with the characters and try to make the story intimate and real.
Bailey: The shots that single out characters in the crowds - especially as Christ is carrying the cross along the Via Dolorosa, when you cut away to little tableau reactions - are highly individualized. There's no sense that these are generic crowds. Caravaggio was infamous for going out in the streets and casting urchins, prostitutes and beggars to play the saints in his paintings. His models weren't idealized people, they were very specific faces. I had the same feeling about the actors in this film.
Deschanel: You want to look at these people because they have readable faces. Most people think cinematographers are drawn to movies because they give us a vast canvas on which we can create big epics, but I've always been drawn to movies by the actors and the chance to be there at the moment of a great performance. I'm drawn to the human face because it's so powerful.
One of the advantages in this picture is that the dialogue is in Aramaic and Latin. That meant that the casting was not limited to the English-speaking world of actors. The actors are from Bulgaria, Romania, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy, France and other countries, and the ones with dialogue all had to learn Aramaic and Latin. Mel initially didn't want the film to have subtitles, and I do feel that you can understand a phenomenal amount of this movie without understanding the languages. There are subtitles, but the main reason for having them is to reassure the audience that they're perceiving things the way they think they are. But when you're watching Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Maia Morgenstern as Mary or Hristo Shopov as Pontius Pilate, you can understand the characters perfectly through their performances. Most people think of acting as how dialogue is expressed, but so much of it is in faces and body language.
Bailey: Your point is well taken, because when you're dealing with an epic period film, particularly in American cinema, you tend to lose track of individual humanity. But this film isn't like that at all. The close-ups of people in the crowds have the same kind of presence and dignity that the shots of the main actors do.
Deschanel: I think that's important, especially if you're going to show someone being beaten or killed. There are so many movies with big battles that show a bunch of characters you've never met, usually stuntmen, whacking away at each other. I guess that works for an audience on a certain level, but for me, that action is of no interest unless I know who those characters are. If I've been invested with something about their personalities or characters, then their deaths will mean something to me. If it's someone I don't know, it's like reading about some random automobile accident in the newspaper. It's odd, but I think of this movie as being very intimate, but it's still huge. It unfolds on a very grand scale.
Bailey: I'd like to ask you how certain sequences were handled stylistically, starting with the opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane at night. The first shot is a combination crane/Steadicam shot that starts off fairly high; the camera eventually cranes down and starts to move along behind the solitary, silhouetted figure of Jesus as he walks through the foggy garden. It's an interesting shot because it starts off as an objective establishing shot, but instead of cutting away, the move simply continues. Visually, it really pulls the audience into the experience. It's also a slightly unsettling shot because it's so mysterious.
Deschanel: Mel always imagined the shot that way. You're really reading the body language of this figure as you follow him. You don't know who it is at first, but you know that he's suffering. We were originally going to film that sequence in some olive gardens in Tivoli. We were up on ladders in the trees, discussing different ways to achieve the sequence, and we eventually decided to put the Steadicam operator, Roberto De Angelis, on a crane and have him step off and continue the shot. We were originally going to come around and show Jesus' face, but it quickly became apparent that you could read everything in Jim's body language from behind him.
We eventually moved the location for that shot to Hadrian's Villa because we had some other scenes to shoot there. But when we went on a scout, it was cold, windy and we were being bitten by all these insects. I said to Steve [McEveety] and Francesco Frigeri, our wonderful production designer, 'We want this scene to take place in the fog, and we're never going to get the effect we want up on this hillside.' Instead, we checked with Cinecitta Studios to see if they had any space available. They had a last-minute cancellation on Stage 5, and we were able to take over the stage and build the garden set. Mel had a terrible cold at the time and thought it was a wonderful idea.
Bailey: The scene is very spare, stylized and disquieting. You don't really see the horizon because it's a night scene, but the background has a light grayish-white feeling. I don't know whether you had a cyclorama enveloping the stage or if you just backlit the fog, but the background doesn't fall off into blackness. It has a sort of floating quality that was enhanced by the use of the Steadicam.
Deschanel: The backing was deep gray, and we lit it to create a feeling of infinity. We had rows and rows of 18Ks, plus a bunch of other lights, to create the feeling of moonlight. The key was the backing, because we didn't want the set to feel as if it had an end. Some scenes in The Patriot were set in a swamp at night, and my gaffer on that show, Colin Campbell, put lights way in the back so we could just light the fog that we'd created. With this garden set, I wanted you to feel that if you looked a bit farther in any direction, there was always something more out there.
Pizzello: How did your choice of the anamorphic widescreen format [2.40:1] affect your artistic choices?
Deschanel: The problem with anamorphic is that you need to shoot with a lot of stop, which can sometimes be hard at night. I was at a stop of at least T3.2 for most of the film, and that's hard to maintain with [Kodak Vision 200T] 5274, a stock that I like a lot. We used [Kodak Vision 500T] 5279 for our huge night scenes, when I really needed the extra stop for anamorphic. Our gaffer, Carlo Vinciguerra, was using these huge, aircraft-type lights that were developed by Vittorio Storaro's gaffer [Pippo Cafolla]. They're basically rows of aircraft lamps in frames. Even with those, it was amazing to me that we could get enough light. Honestly, Mel felt that the picture should be shot anamorphic, and I'm glad we did it. There's something about the discipline of anamorphic that was appropriate for this film.
Bailey: You can't just run wild with it. It forces a certain kind of classical quality on you.
Deschanel: We went through more than 90 anamorphic lenses to find the eight or nine we used on The Passion of the Christ. We just picked out the best lenses - and by 'best' I don't always mean 'sharpest.' I always do tests both with charts and faces, and I find that some lenses just feel more three-dimensional than others. They all have different qualities, especially in terms of how they handle light. Anamorphic Primos are very heavy, but the wider ones are really beautiful; when we went to longer lenses, I'd use the C- or E-Series. We used everything up to 600mm, but in general, the widest we went was 40mm or 50mm.
Pizzello: The period must have dictated a good deal of your approach to the lighting.
Deschanel: We're dealing with a story that took place 2,000 years ago, so our environment at night was either moonlight or firelight. At the Pamphilli Palace in Rome, there is a whole collection of paintings that are [lit by] candlelight. I studied those a lot, and I also went to places where I could examine things under firelight and moonlight. You're not creating reality or naturalism, you're creating the illusion of something, an impression. In that way the film is a metaphor for the time. The olive garden has a mystical quality, but somehow you accept it. It's the same with the firelit scenes - we just wanted to create the illusion that it was real. Surprisingly, there was a lot of [ambient] light in all of those dark scenes. But to create that illusion in anamorphic, we needed a great deal of light. I always wanted to have an understanding in my own mind of where the light was coming from, even if the source wasn't visible. In my mind, I knew where those sources were, and that helped me build that kind of 'film reality.' In some sequences, such as the scene in which Peter denies Jesus three times, there are lanterns and big pots of fire that we could use to justify our sources.
Bailey: One of the most beautifully lit scenes in the film takes places in the quarters where Pontius Pilate lives with his wife, Claudia. It's lit almost in a noir way, with pools and slashes of light. Yet it doesn't seem highly theatrical; it feels very real.
Deschanel: I love that sequence. Pilate is reading an edict as his wife is sleeping in the next room. He hears her having a nightmare, so he goes to her and finds her trembling in bed. Then there's a knock on the door, and a guard is there to tell Pilate that trouble is brewing. I wanted to mix fire- and moonlight, which I also did in the scene where John tells Mary and Mary Magdalene that Jesus has been arrested. In both cases, we mixed blue light from the moon with orange light from the fires, but in the scene involving Pilate, I made the firelight very specific, as though it's coming from holes in a lantern. In a sense, that scene was painted, in that I very specifically aimed cold light coming through the windows and [created] little squares of orange light inside the space. I used a mixture of HMIs for moonlight, making them a little more blue, and then added some warmth to the interior tungsten lights. When Pilate comes to his wife, he's in moonlight and a bit of firelight, but his face is almost totally black except for some rimlighting. My approach was very metaphorical. I'm not sure I can even explain it, but things just felt right at a certain point in the process. Mel felt very strongly about seeing people's eyes or faces in certain scenes, but at other times it's in their body language. I'm sure the choices were inspired subconsciously by all of the visual images we had studied, but I can't say specifically how.
Bailey: People often think there's a massive blueprint for what we do because there's so much equipment and personnel involved in filmmaking. Some cinematographers may work that way, but I think many essentially deal with emotion, character and drama - things that you can't really quantify. And the process of executing those things is intuitive and organic. I think that's something that a lot of beginning cinematographers need to think about more.
Deschanel: You need to be versed in the technical aspects of cinematography to do your job well, but at some point, you have to get past all of that. It's like being inspired by paintings; you can either copy them or use them to find your own inspiration and metaphors. If you copy them, you're going to be limited to what you copy. The same thinking applies to the equipment we use; you need to be familiar enough with the equipment that you can move beyond those considerations and into the philosophical aspects of storytelling.
At any rate, the answers are incomplete until you get on the set with the actors. You can sit there with an empty set and figure out how it should be lit, but your plans will often change when the actors arrive. The power that a great actor can bring to a setting is just phenomenal. When an actor is on the set, the presence of the character he or she is creating suddenly brings something else to the scene, and a cinematographer has to respond to that. It's easy to say, 'Okay, you've gotta hit this mark,' but the actors are ultimately going to determine what you do, and they're going to be your best friends in terms of telling the story.
Bailey: I've heard certain cinematographers or students talking about actors as though they're the obstacle rather than the instrument. Their attitude is that the actors are trying to subvert their vision. But as you point out, you can't have a real vision until you're committed to going through the process with the actors.
Deschanel: You can't tell a story without characters. How many films have you seen that are beautifully photographed but completely lifeless? You can sit there and say, 'Well, at least I got a great review,' but ultimately that's not very satisfying.
Bailey: I'd like to talk about the 'Ecce homo' scene, in which Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd after he's been severely beaten by the Roman soldiers. Pilate and Jesus are standing on a parapet above the crowd, and many of the shots are aimed up at them from very low angles. Even when you're close on them, the perspective feels removed. The irony is that you can feel the whole weight of the Roman authority personified by Pilate, who is actually completely helpless in this situation.
Deschanel: That was an outdoor set, and [production designer] Francesco Frigeri positioned it to face north so it was always in shadow. The low angles reflect the crowd's point of view, but I also feel that they recall those great ceiling paintings, where you're always looking up at these historical figures. The angles did help to create a floating sensation that conveys both Pilate's power and his helplessness. He's in an incredible proscenium, but his dilemma is palpable. Along with Jesus and Mary, I've always found Pilate to be one of the most fascinating characters in this drama. We started out letting that scene play out from down below, and as we worked our way up, we decided to stay low rather than get level with the actors.
Bailey: The Via Dolorosa sequence, when Christ is carrying the cross, features a lot of very hot, contrasty sunlight. Jesus takes three falls, and it's the most agonizing and painful part of the movie. Among the great central liturgies of the Catholic Church are the 14 Stations of the Cross; each depicts a specific moment, and each of the three falls is documented. I was absolutely mesmerized by the way you were able to keep a sense of the momentum of that journey up to the crucifixion site, yet still have each of the Stations fully realized.
Deschanel: I think one of film's most moving moments is when Simone of Cyrene is ordered to help Jesus carry the cross. He does it very reluctantly, but then he begins exchanging really meaningful looks with Jesus along the way. The beginning of that scene, when they leave Pilate and start off with the cross, was shot on the backlot at Cinecitta, and that footage ties together with material we shot in the town of Matera in southern Italy. Matera was founded 5,000 years ago, and it has white stone cliffs that have houses dug into their sides. It was a great place to film because we didn't really need to change much. The top part of the town was modern, but the bottom was ancient.
We shot the Via Dolorosa sequence with a combination of dolly, handheld and Steadicam work. We did a lot of Steadicam shots that moved in very close to the actors, and we also used some slow motion. For Jesus' first two falls, we dug holes in the ground to get the camera low enough for some of the angles we wanted. But our approach for the third fall was the complete opposite: we shot it from a crane up above. Mel had the idea that Jesus would be falling and spinning at the same time. It wound up being a very powerful image.
Bailey: I have to ask you about the crucifixion itself, and the difficulty you may have had controlling the gathering clouds and the wind.
Deschanel: We had laid everything out so that if we got weather, we could just move along to that particular part of the story. We knew we were finishing the picture digitally, so we filmed even with clouds. I lit that sequence as much as I could, but we're still working in post to get the skies to look the way we want. We've been darkening them, but we're still debating about how far we should go. Jim was virtually naked during those scenes, which were shot in Matera in November. He was up there on the cross with the wind blowing, in the cold and rain. A lot of that wind was real. Our biggest problem was that the crosses kept swaying and shaking, even though they were sunk into the ground. Mel didn't want to use most of the footage that showed the crosses moving, even though some of it looked great in terms of weather.
Bailey: Let me ask about the descent from the cross, when you recreate the Pieta with Mary holding Jesus in her arms. The Pieta is one of the great images in Western art. How did you approach that moment?
Deschanel: We were aware of the Michelangelos and dozens of other representations of that scene, but most of them tend to be much moodier than what we did. Mel wanted Jim in a very specific position, and we also had to deal with the Roman soldiers who bring Jesus down from the cross, so we played with the composition a bit. As it turned out, we did a shot from a wide position and completed that before moving in for a closer shot on Mary and a pullback. We did one take with a dolly and another with a Technocrane. We used the Technocrane a lot during that sequence - for overheads of the cross, images of the cross being raised and then falling, and shots of Jesus being brought down.
One shot of the Romans nailing Jesus' feet was inspired by a crucifixion scene painted by Salvador Dali. That painting has a perspective that's almost floating above the cross, and it's really amazing. Our image doesn't necessarily resemble the painting, but Dali's work did inspire our approach.
Bailey: The film's epilogue, which shows the resurrection, has a transcendent feel. Visually it's very ambiguous, but you get the sense of a stone rolling back and the light coming into a tomb and causing these moving shadows. As the move continues, you see the burial shroud on the slab and then a portion of Jesus' hand, which has a hole in it. I found that shot fascinating, because it's totally unlike anything else in the film.
Deschanel: It is totally unlike anything else in the film. We shot that sequence on a set with a painted backdrop. The shroud actually collapses, as if the body is disappearing, and then the camera arrives on Jesus sitting next to the slab. The shot didn't really work when we put the light in one place, so we put it on both a crane and a dolly; the light was actually moving up and down and dollying at the same time. We rolled the stone that was covering the tomb and then moved the light around until it arrived on Jim. For me, that's the moment when the film becomes religious. | | Trivia |
- When this Latin and Aramaic language film was announced, Mel Gibson stated that his intent was to release it without subtitles, letting the performances speak for themselves. However, subtitles were added later. Also, he stated that regardless of the cost of the project, that this would be "good for the soul".
- During the scourging scene, James Caviezel accidentally got whipped twice. The first time knocked the wind out of him, and the second time hurt so much it caused him wrench his hand quickly from his shackles, scraping his wrist badly. The remainder of the scourging scenes were finished by using visual effects: the actors playing Roman soldiers held sticks without the leather tails, and acted out the whipping motion, while Caviezel would react as if hit. The tails were later digitally composited into the shots. Make-up wounds on Caviezel's body were digitally covered until the actual hit by the whip, creating the illusion that they suddenly appeared.
- In an interview with Newsweek magazine, James Caviezel spoke about a few of the difficulties he experienced while filming. This included being accidentally whipped twice, which has left a 14 inch scar on his back. Caviezel also admitted he was struck by lightning while filming the Sermon on the Mount and during the crucifixion, experienced hypothermia during the dead of winter in Italy.
- Assistant director Jan Michelini was also hit twice by lightning during filming.
- James Caviezel experienced a shoulder separation when the 150lb cross dropped on his shoulder. The scene is still in the movie.
- The figure of Christ during the crucifixion is actually James Caviezel in many scenes. The movie's make-up effects creator/producer Keith VanderLaan also forged an articulated, rubber stand-in for Caviezel that even made breathing motions, who could be suspended on the cross for certain wide shots to allow the actor some physical relief, and for some dangerous shots (such as the turning of the cross).
- According to Mel Gibson, Maia Morgenstern, who played Mary, was pregnant during the shoot. She didn't tell anyone, until one day she approached James Caviezel (Jesus) and said in broken English and a thick Romanian accent, "I have baby. In stomach."
- It's Mel Gibson's hands that nail Christ to the cross during the Crucifixion scene. The decision for his small cameo in the film was explained by a quote from Gibson who said "It was me that put him on the cross. It was my sins [who put him there]."
- On the first day of general release, Ash Wednesday, Peggy Scott, a 56 year old advertising sales manager from Wichita, Kansas collapsed of apparent heart failure while watching the crucifixion scene. She later died at the hospital.
- This film had more pre-ticket sales than any other film in history.
- Mel Gibson had a Canadian priest, Fr. Stephen Somerville, celebrate the Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Mass of the Apostolic Rite for the film crew each day before production began.
- The film begins without opening credits. The title of the film is stated only in the closing.
- James Caviezel was given a prosthetic nose and a raised hairline. His blue eyes were digitally changed to brown on film.
- Foreseeing damage to box office, its release in Mexico had to be moved one week earlier (from March 25 to March 19) because pirate copies were already available a few days after it premiered in the USA.
- Maia Morgenstern, who plays Mary (mother of Jesus), is only six years older than James Caviezel.
- Mel Gibson's foot was used in the scene where Mary Magdalene touches Jesus' foot.
- There are several specifically Catholic influences in the film, such as the prominent role of Jesus' mother Mary; the Stations of the Cross; the floating cross on which Jesus was crucified; and the depiction of Satan.
- In a rarity for Hollywood releases, re-entered the #1 spot at the box office for the weekend of Good Friday, 2004.
- Malaysia did not ban the film as is commonly believed. The Malaysian government allowed Christians to the film. Tickets were allowed to be sold only by Christian churches.
- Mel Gibson has stated that he will give $100 million of the film's gross to the Traditional Catholic Movement.
- During production the film was originally supposed to be titled simply "The Passion". However in October 2003, it was revealed the Miramax studios already had a movie in production with that title. Mel Gibson retitled the film "The Passion of Christ". He retitled it yet again a month later in November 2003 to "The Passion of the Christ".
- This is the highest-grossing rated R film in US box office history earning $370 million.
- This is the highest grossing foreign language film and/or subtitled film in US box office history. It is also the highest grossing religious film in worldwide box office of all time.
- While the characters of the film mostly speak Latin and Aramaic, there are instances where Hebrew was spoken: a) The gathering of the Sanhedrin (Jewish chief Rabbis); b) Simon of Cyrene speaking; and c) The woman who gave water to Jesus to his way to Golgotha.
- It would usually take over 10 hours to put James Caviezel into the scourged makeup. On some of those days, it would happen that the weather conditions turned out to be unsuitable for filming. To avoid spending more hours to have it removed and re-applied the next day, he kept it on and went to bed in full make-up.
- Banned in Kuwait and Bahrain, for religious reasons (forbidding visual depictions of a prophet, as Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam, not the Son of God).
- A year after the film's initial release, a "toned-down" version retitled as "The Passion Recut" was released. Though some of the more graphic elements were removed, the MPAA still assigned the movie an "R" rating - so the version was distributed to theaters as "unrated".
- Because of their experiences during film production, many of the cast and filming crew converted to Catholicism after the completion of the film. Among those who converted was an atheist who played Judas Iscariot.
- The Bible verse from Isaiah 53:5 which appeared in the beginning of the film ("He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by His wounds we are healed") is abbreviated. Here is the full verse for those who are not familiar with the Bible: "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed" (ESV).
- A new type of fake blood with added viscosity was developed for Jesus' scourging makeup, which contained red dyes suspended in glycerin, fatty gums and a stabilizing base. It coincidentally made James Caviezel's skin smell very sweet for numerous days, and had to be rubbed with alcohol.
- Mel Gibson's first writing credit.
- Originally, the second confrontation between Pilate and the Sanhedrin included a line where the Sanhedrin say, "His blood be on our heads and on the heads of our children!" Although this line comes from the Gospels, Mel Gibson removed the subtitle of the line to avoid further allegations of the movie having an anti-Semitic message. The actual line in Aramaic was left in the movie.
- At actual Roman crucifixions, the nails were driven through the wrists and not through the palms as in the film. The structure of the hand is not strong enough to support the weight of the body and the nail would have torn through between the fingers. However, the Christian tradition shows the nails as driven through the palms. In the Bible, the nails were said to be driven into the hands of Jesus. Medically, the hands include the wrists. - Edit: Recent study of ancient crucifixions have revealed that it is likely that the nails were in fact driven through the hands as opposed to the wrists. The hands have a nerve running through the middle of them that would have caused unbelievable amounts of pain when the nail was driven through. To support the body's weight, ropes were tied at the wrists and the elbows to tie them to the crossbeam, then the legs were broken causing the weight of their body to pull on the upper body, eventually resulting in death by slow suffocation.
- Rated #1 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2006.
- According to the one of the commentaries available on the recently released "Passion of The Christ - The Definitive Edition" DVD, it's Mel Gibson's arms and hands we see tying the rope on the tree where Judas commits suicide by hanging himself.
- The Roman soldiers that flog Jesus and mock him all the way to the mountain speak a flawed and often incorrect form of Latin. This was done intentionally, as the Roman army often consisted not of Roman citizens, but of people from conquered areas volunteering for duty, for who Latin would be a second language in which they were not fluent.
- According to Caleb Deschanel, the majority of the movie was shot with a speed above the normal 24 frames per second. This created a sense of relative 'slow motion' in most scenes, which gave the performances and events more weight and drama.
- According to Mel Gibson, the long shot of Jesus lying in Mary's arms after having been taken from the cross, was greatly inspired by Michelangelo's famous statue 'La Pietà', a work of art that inspired many other depictions of this scene.
- Was voted the most pro-Catholic film of all time by readers of Faith & Family magazine and the National Catholic Register newspaper. It received more votes from readers than the next three films on the list combined: 1965's "The Sound of Music," 1966's "A Man for All Seasons" and 1943's "The Song of Bernadette."
- Christ was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. In this movie, Pilate is played by Bulgarian actor Hristo Shopov, his name "Hristo" is actually the Bulgarian word for "Christ".
- The name of the Roman soldier who pierced Christ with a spear is Cassius, as we heard Abenader shouted his name when giving him a spear. This is a reference to the Catholic tradition that the name of the soldier who pierced Christ's side was Cassius Longinus, who was later believed to convert to Christianity and is venerated in Roman Catholicism as a saint.
| The Passion of the Christ
Screenplay by Mel Gibson and Benedict Fitzgerald |
SCENE ONE
JUDAS OFFERS TO BETRAY JESUS
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over (Matthew 26:14-16).
SCENE TWO
THE DISCIPLES PREPARE FOR THE LAST SUPPER
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover (Luke 22:7-13).
 SCENE THREE
JESUS SHARES THE LAST SUPPER WITH HIS DISCIPLES
When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God"
(Luke 22:14-16).
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
"I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'
"I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." (John 13:1-21)
And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:21-24).
One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means." Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon (John 13:23-26).
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you" (Matthew 26:25).
As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:27-38).
(Jesus shares his final message to his disciples which is found in John 14 – 17.)
 
 
After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (Luke 22:17-20).
Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered.
He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors' ; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."
The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied (Luke 22:35-38).
SCENE FOUR
JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS COMING SUFFERING
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will" (Mark 14:26, 33-36).
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.
"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Luke 22:43-46)
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
SCENE FIVE
JESUS IS ARRESTED
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?"
And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."
"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me" (John 18:2-9).
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." Mark 14:45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him (Mark 14:44-45).
Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
(Luke 22:48).
"Friend, do what you came for."
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" (Matthew 26:50-54)
"Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."
Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind (Mark 14:48-52).
 
SCENE SIX
JESUS BROUGHT BEFORE ANNAS, THE EX-HIGH PRIEST
Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.
The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded. "If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" (John 18:12-14, 19-22).
SCENE SEVEN
JESUS TRIED and CONDEMNED BY CAIAPHAS
They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law came together. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.
Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.'" Yet even then their testimony did not agree.
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" (Mark 14:53, 55-61)
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
"He is worthy of death," they answered.
Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:64-68)
SCENE EIGHT
PETER DENIES JESUS THREE TIMES
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in. "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, "I am not."
It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."
One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?"
Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow (John 18:15-18, 25-26).
The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly (Luke 22:61-62).
SCENE NINE
JESUS CONDEMNED BY THE TEMPLE COUNCIL
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. Luke 22:67 "If you are the Christ, " they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."
They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"
He replied, "You are right in saying I am."
Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips."
Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate (Luke 22:66-23:1).
SCENE TEN
JUDAS RETURNS SILVER and KILLS HIMSELF
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, "It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me" (Matthew 27:3-10).
SCENE ELEVEN
JESUS APPEARS BEFORE PILATE
Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"
"If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law."
"But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"
"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him (John 18:28-38).
When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge--to the great amazement of the governor (Matthew 27:12-14).
But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here" (Luke 23:5).
SCENE TWELVE
JESUS APPEARS BEFORE HEROD
On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. Luke 23:12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends--before this they had been enemies (Luke 23:6-12)
SCENE THIRTEEN
JESUS APPEARS BEFORE PILATE A SECOND TIME
Now it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did (Mark 15:6-8). Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death (Luke 23:13-15).
So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:17).
For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they answered (Matthew 27:18-21).
With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!" (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) (Luke 23:18-19)
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him."
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"
But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"
Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered (John 19:1-14).
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"
All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:24-25).
So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:24).
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him (Matthew 27:27-31).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SCENE FOURTEEN
JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'
Then "'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:26-34).
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
"They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did (John 19:23-24).
Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:19-22).
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads (Mat 27:40) and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" (Mat 27:4)
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. (Mat 27:42) "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
( Mat 27:43)
He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God'" (Matthew 27:39-42).
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise"
(Luke 23:39-43).
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:25-27).
At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah" (Mark 15:33-35).
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (Luke 19:28-30).
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:46).
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons (Matthew 27:51-56).
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken" (John 19:31-36).
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph (Mark 15:42-45).
SCENE FIFTEEN
JESUS IS BURIED
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there (John 19:39-42). The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment
(Luke 23:55-56).
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."
Mat 27:65 "Take a guard," Pilate answered. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard (Matthew 27:62-66).
SCENE SIXTEEN
JESUS RISES FROM THE DEAD
and APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men (Matthew 28:1-4).
Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"
Mark 16:8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid (Mark 6:2-8).
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her (John 20:2-18).
Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him (Matthew 28:9).
- THE END -
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