A News Anchor's Perspective on "The Passion of the Christ"
Jody Dean Dallas/Ft. Worth anchor, CBS News

There have been tons of e-mails and forwards floating around
recently from those who have had the privilege of seeing Mel
Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ prior to its actual release. I
thought I'd give you my reaction after seeing it last [week.] The
screening was on the first night of "Elevate!  a weekend-long
seminar for young people at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.
There were about 2,000 people there, and the movie was shown after
several speakers had taken the podium. It started around 9:00 and
finished around 11:00 about two hours in length. Frankly, I lost
complete track of time - so I can't be sure.  I want you to know
that I started in broadcasting when I was 13 years old. I have
been in the business of writing, performing, production and
broadcasting for a long time. I have been a part of movies, radio,
television, stage and other productions - so I know how things are
done. I know about soundtracks and special effects and make-up and
screenplays. I think I have seen just about every kind of movie or
TV show ever made - from extremely inspirational to extremely
gory. I read a lot - and have covered stories and scenes that
still make me wince. I also have a vivid imagination, and have the
ability to picture things as they must have happened - or to
anticipate things as they will be portrayed. I have also seen an
enormous amount of footage from Gibson's film, so I thought I knew
what was coming.  But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I
could have read, seen, heard, thought or known - that could have
prepared me for what I saw on screen last night.  This is not a
movie that anyone will "like". I don't think it's a movie anyone
will "love". It certainly doesn't "entertain". There isn't even
the sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is: a
experience - on a level of primary emotion that is scarcely
comprehensible. Every shred of human preconception or
predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one will eat popcorn
during this film. Some may not eat for days after they've seen it.
Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.  I can see
why some people are worried about how the film portrays the Jews.
They should be worried. No, it's not anti-Semitic. What it is, is
entirely shattering. There are no "winners". No one comes off
looking "good" - except Jesus. Even His own mother hesitates. As
depicted, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day merely do what any of
us would have done - and still do. They protected their perceived
"place" - their sense of safety and security, and the
satisfaction of their own "rightness". But everyone falters.
Caiphus judges. Peter denies. Judas betrays. Simon the Cyrene
balks. Mark runs away. Pilate equivocates. The crowd mocks. The
soldiers laugh. Longinus still stabs with his pilus. The
centurion still carries out his orders. And as Jesus fixes them
all with a glance, they still turn away. The Jews, the Romans,
Jesus' friends - they all fall. Everyone, except the Principal
Figure. Heaven sheds a single, mighty tear - and as blood and
water spew from His side, the complacency of all creation is
eternally shattered. The film grabs you in the first five
seconds, and never lets go. The brutality, humiliation, and gore
are almost inconceivable - and still probably does not go far
enough. The scourging alone seems to never end, and you cringe at
the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how steely your
nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison will have
trouble, no matter their experience - because this Man was not
conscripted. He went willingly, laying down His entirety for all.
It is one thing for a soldier to die for his countrymen. It's
something else entirely to think of even a common man dying for
those who hate and wish to kill him. But this is no common man.
This is the King of the Universe. The idea that anyone could or
would have gone through such punishment is unthinkable - but this
Man was completely innocent, completely holy - and paying the
price for others. He screams as He is laid upon the cross,
"Father, they don't know. They don't know..." What Gibson has
done is to use all of his considerable skill to portray the most
dramatic moment of the most dramatic events since the dawn of
time. There is no escape. It's a punch to the gut that puts you on
the canvas, and you don't get up. You are simply confronted by
the horror of what was done - what had to be done - and why.
Throughout the entire film, I found myself apologizing. What
you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was
no sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got
up. No one moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In
all my years of public life, I have never heard anything like
that. I told many of you that Gibson had reportedly re-shot the
ending to include more "hope" through the Resurrection? That's
not true. The Resurrection scene is perhaps the shortest in the
entire movie - and yet it packs a punch that can't be quantified.
It is perfect. There is no way to negotiate the meaning out of it.
It simply asks, "Now, what will you do?" I'll leave the details to
you, in the hope that you will see the film - but one thing above
all stands out, and I have to tell you about it. It comes from the
end of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness - where the Bible says
Satan left him "until a more opportune time." I imagine Satan
never quit tempting Christ, but this film captures beyond words
the most opportune time. At every step of the way, Satan is there
at Jesus' side - imploring Him to quit, reasoning with Him to give
up, and seducing Him to surrender. For the first time, one gets a
heart-stopping idea of the sense of madness that must have
enveloped Jesus - a sense of the evil that was at His very elbow.
The physical punishment is relentless - but it's the sense of
psychological torture that is most overwhelming. He should have
quit. He should have opened His mouth. He should have called
10,000 angels. No one would have blamed Him. What we deserve is
obvious. But He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. He didn't
do that. He doesn't do that. It was not and is not His character.
He was obedient, all the way to the cross - and you feel the real
meaning of that phrase in a place the human heart usually doesn't
dare to go. You understand that we are called to that same level
of obedience. With Jesus' humanity so irresistibly on display, you
understand that we have no excuse. There is no place to hide. The
truth is this: Is it just a "movie?" In a way, yes. But it goes
far beyond that, in a fashion I've never felt - in any forum. We
may think we "know". We know nothing. We've gone 2,000 years -
used to the idea of a pleasant story, and a sanitized Christ. We
expect the ending, because we've heard it so many times. God
forgive us. This film tears that all away. It's is as close as any
of us will ever get to knowing, until we fully know. Paul
understood. "Be urgent, in and out of season." Luke wrote that
Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking of the bread. Exactly. The
Passion Of The Christ shows that Bread being broken.  Go see this
movie.
Jody Dean is the Dallas/Ft. Worth anchor for CBS News.