This past weekend, two PG-13 films were widely released in America. One film garnered a mere 2.5 out of 5 on the Plugged In family-friendliness meter; the other received a 4. Both contained scenes of violence. However, in an unusual twist, the film that was actually more brutal managed the better score.
If you’re wondering how that can be, I’ll explain. The two films were Non-Stop and Son of God. The former was knocked down primarily for a plane-load of nonstop language issues. The latter received a mere one-point deduction for what admittedly were, as film critic Roger Moore points out, “stretches where the agony we watch this poor man endure is avert-your-eyes-awful.”
But how can “avert-your-eyes-awful” wind up with a 4?
Without knowing it, Moore defends the Plugged In rating in a backhanded way when he refers to Jesus as “this poor man.” Not Savior, King of Kings, Redeemer, Lord, Messiah, or even Jesus. Just “this poor man.” But Jesus Christ is not and never was “this poor man.” He is the Ancient of Days, the Name Above All Names, the Third Person of the Godhead. If Jesus were just some poor guy, I’d be the first to knock down the family-friendly rating another point. But while one can’t properly tell the story of our Savior without showcasing His brutal and tortuous death, it’s the full knowledge‑‑with no spoiler needed—that death will not be His final end that makes the brutality easier (but not easy!) to absorb. We watch the cruelty and, yes, we avert our eyes at times. But we know an empty tomb is just around the corner. This is not true about any other crucified or flogged individual who ever lived.
As a rule, people today are aware that Jesus died by crucifixion. Whether or not they’re people of faith, they’ve seen hundreds if not thousands of crucifixes and crosses. If they’re believers, they’ve gone huge steps further. They’ve sung hymns and worship songs about Calvary, the blood, and the cross. They’ve read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They’ve heard and responded to the Gospel message that Jesus of Nazareth was tortured, crucified and his mangled body placed in a rich man’s tomb. In their minds they’ve visualized their Savior’s hands and feet being pierced, a crown of thorns jammed into His forehead, and all the barbaric acts committed against Him. So, in many ways, while the violence isn’t lessened per se, it comes across somehow differently.
Without the shedding of blood, the Bible reminds us, there would be no forgiveness. We rejoice in the cross. We are thankful for His shed blood. We realize He is our sacrificial lamb, slain before the foundation of the world. Although we can’t shake the fact that He, although innocent, allowed himself to be beaten, spit upon, clubbed, mocked, whipped, pierced and crucified, we know the story doesn’t end there. Sunday is coming. A folded grave cloth, an angelic message and eye-witness accounts of Jesus alive have to be considered as a total glorious “package.” It’s Golgotha paired with a rolled-away stone. It’s “It is finished” matched up with “Risen indeed.” It’s Via Dolorosa combined with a glorious ascension. As such, it calls all us who believe in Him to feel peaceful, hopeful and joyous (even elated) because, “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (I Corinthians 15:54).
There’s one more point I want to make here. Son of God does not in any way glamorize the violence done to our Lord. There’s a colossal difference between a film that shows brutality and wants the viewers to think it’s cool, and a film that wants us to weep, even fall to our knees. Does the 4 rating mean Son of God is appropriate for younger children? Parents need to decide that, and we do wave a cautionary flag for the young ones. For older teens on up, though, that cautionary flag lays limp. The family-friendliness of the film seems more than appropriate when we balance “Surely he took our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:4,5) with “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5).
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