Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. – John 15:13

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is the most graphic depiction of the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday ever filmed. For years movies and television shows telling Jesus’ story limited their portrayals of the violence of Jesus’ death. “Passion” left nothing to the imagination. Utilizing modern cinematic special effects, Gibson gives us an up-close look at the physical agony that Christ experienced.

I remember the first time I saw the film in the theater. I understood the physicality of crucifixion, but seeing it reenacted on the screen was an eye-opening experience. I’ve seen the movie several times since and still marvel at what Jesus endured on my behalf. But it was during my last viewing of the film that I noticed something that gave me a renewed understanding of what Jesus did that day at Calvary.

Having been condemned by Pilate, Jesus was led out to be executed. After Jesus drops His cross, the soldiers grab Him and violently strip off his cloak, knocking him to the ground. He lies there for a moment, catching His breath, summoning His strength. It is here where the most amazing thing happens. Jesus picks himself up off the ground and crawls toward His cross.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Who would do this? I realize that this is a motion picture and not an accurate account of every detail shared in the Gospels. I also understand that He’s in no condition to run or fight after hours of being tortured. But to see the Son of God, battered and beaten, lying on the ground, exerting His last bit of strength to move toward His death was an amazing revelation to me. You might expect Him to just lie there, forcing the soldiers to do their jobs while He hung onto life for as long as He could. But the way this scene was presented shows us the most important of truths, reminding us of the purpose for which He had been sent.

So why did He do it? Why move toward the suffering and death that awaited Him? It was love. It was love that brought Him to earth, to be a man born in a stable. Love compelled Him to feed the hungry and to heal the sick. And now, in the most significant moment in human history, it was love that led him to die on a cross. He wasn’t forced to do this. There was no order given. It wasn’t a debt that He owed, just one that He chose to pay. It was His choice, and it was a choice rooted in a love far greater than any other.

As our Lenten journey takes us to Calvary followed by Easter Sunday’s empty tomb, let us remember that our salvation comes from the love of God for us shown through the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. May we offer our deepest thanks to God for His grace, and let us share His story through our thoughts, words and deeds; now and always.