Series: The Lion and the Lamb
Message: The Love Paradox
Preacher: Tony Hunter
Reflection: Becky De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Jenniffer Ogden
Live Beyond: Adrian Peterson
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Isaiah 53 in the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Back when I lived in England, in the mid-nineties, I walked out of a reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ staged in Salisbury Hall at Newbold College. The young man playing the part of Christ was an American, perhaps a budding thespian. He took his role seriously and there was a lot of screaming, thrashing, and performing of suffering. I’ve always been more sensitive than the average person when it comes to witnessing human pain, even if it’s obviously staged or fake. On a trip to the Royal London Wax Museum in Victoria, Canada, when I was about sixteen, I was urged by my family to accompany them through the Chamber of Horrors where every sadistic mode of torture practiced in the Middle Ages had been rendered, horrifically, in wax. Adolf Hitler was also there, guarding the exit, which seemed fitting. All the way home on the SS Princess Marguerite I was both angry and haunted; it took weeks to get the images out of my mind. The guy I was dating at the time made fun of my squeamishness and would repeatedly say the word “torture” just to make me cringe. What a gem! How did I ever let him get away?
Japhet, to whom I was married at the time of the passion play walk-out (and still am), wondered aloud whether my unwillingness to witness an enactment of the crucifixion signalled some deeper spiritual crisis, perhaps an inability to truly accept Jesus in my heart. “Nope,” I said. “It’s just not my thing.” When he was invited, along with every other member of the clergy in the whole of the greater London metropolitan area, to a screening of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004), I opted not to tag along, citing perhaps our new baby as a justifiable reason for avoiding the film. I had no desire to see it whatsoever and have continued to avoid most movies with excessively brutal violence.
Finally, when I was forty years old, I managed to achieve a state of middle-aged emotional deadness so profound that I was pretty certain I could watch the film, and so I decided to do so for Easter that year. I hadn’t forgotten Japhet’s interpretation of my unwillingness to be confronted with the physical sacrifice of Jesus and while it may not seem as if I’m generally paying attention, I take criticism to heart and think about it quite carefully, sometimes for decades. I watched all 127 minutes of the film which mostly consisted of Jesus, played by the actor Jim Caviezel, being beaten with whips, chains, spiked balls, etc. I forced myself to watch; I did not cover my face or close my eyes, like I normally would have. To call the film brutal is an understatement. It is horrific. And yet I have watched it several times since, always on Easter. It has become a sort of tradition, like attending Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks Amphitheatre out here in Colorado. But I didn’t watch it last year and I’m not sure I’ll do so this year. I don’t know if this version of me, the tougher, middle-aged, unflinching version, is someone I even like. Maybe I was better back when I would have cried and covered my eyes.
But I don’t know—I’m genuinely torn. Ellen White offers this advice:
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones [emphasis provided]. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. (Desire of Ages)
Is the physical gore and suffering what she had in mind for the focus of this contemplation? Will desensitization settle in after repeatedly thinking about or viewing enactments of the death of Christ? His death certainly bears some consideration. But how much? And in what context? And for what purpose?
Recalibrate: Have you seen The Passion of the Christ or other reenactments of Christ’s death? How do you feel about them?
Respond: Talk to someone about what the death of Christ means to you.
Research: Read “Nailed” by David Denby in The New Yorker.
Remember: “But He was wounded for the wrong things we did. He was crushed for the evil things we did” (Isaiah 53:5, ICB).
Becky De Oliveira is a teacher, writer, editor, and graphic designer. She is working on a PhD in research methods at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
Read this with your little one. Know that as you hold your child in your arms it is because of how much you are loved that Jesus endured so much.
Keep working on memorizing the Words to Remember for the week: “But He was wounded for the wrong things we did. He was crushed for the evil things we did” (Isaiah 53:5, ICB). Have you ever tried to speak Pig Latin? Find someone who can teach you and learn to speak at least one sentence in Pig Latin. It’s so much fun and silly! Sometimes learning something new can be confusing and hard, but once we practice we make progress and can be great at it! The same is true for learning to love others, help others, and care for others. Sometimes it feels confusing and hard, but as we practice we make progress. Jesus shows us that loving others can be very hard, but it is always good in the end. We get to live forever because of the very hard things Jesus did for us!
In the book of 1 Peter, another verse from this week’s chapter is quoted: “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25, NLT). It sounds pretty similar doesn’t it? Compare this to Isaiah 53:4-6. What’s the same? What is different? What do you think it means to be “dead to sin?” What about “live for what is right?” To me, this sounds a lot like baptism—when we accept Jesus as our Friend and Saviour we say “I don’t want to live for myself anymore.” Instead we want to live for Jesus. We want to be “dead” to our old lives and live a new life in Jesus. Do you know someone who has been baptized? Ask them to share with you why they made that decision and how life is now different. I bet it will be a great story!
Have you ever heard someone exclaim, “I was just crushed when that didn’t happen!” Maybe you have. Many times I have heard people talk about really wanting something—or really wanting to do something—and when it didn’t happen for them they use the expression of having been “crushed.” It is a graphic phrase. When someone says they are crushed, I imagine them being bulldozed over into the tiniest, littlest person that they can become. When we are “crushed” it means we feel completely broken and made small. The Bible says Jesus was “crushed.” “He was crushed for our iniquities.” Jesus was made small for us. He was made less than, tiny, little, itty-bitty, all for you and me. But also in a very literal sense He was “crushed” for us. He was kicked, beaten, pierced, and trampled upon for our salvation. When was the last time you thought about what Jesus went through for you? Look to the quote by Ellen White in the main reflection today and read it. What does that quote move you to do? I get it. It is hard to spend an hour doing anything. So try this: throughout your day make it a habit to thank Jesus for what He has done for you. I bet that if you do that throughout your day, you will find by the end of the day that you spent more than an hour thinking about all Jesus has done. When we remember what Jesus has done for us it changes the way we think, live, and treat others. Now that’s something we all can benefit from!
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development groups. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Jenniffer Ogden serves as the children and family pastor at the Walla Walla University Church in College Place, Washington.
Adrian Peterson is the associate pastor at Burwood Adventist Community Church in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.
Kyle Smith is the associate pastor of youth and family ministries at New Haven Adventist Church in Overland Park, Kansas.