Risen: Three Reflections from the Movie

Last Saturday, Grace and I had the opportunity to go see the movie Risen. Although I did not plan to write about the movie, there were several things that I considered after watching it, and I want to share my experience with you.

First of all, this is not a movie review. If you want a review of the movie, along with an overview of the positive and negative elements of the movie, I would encourage you to visit the Plugged In website. This site is affiliated with Focus on the Family, and it is the site I always look at for a breakdown of what’s in a movie. I will warn you that this movie is rated PG-13, and I would caution parents to read a review before taking young children to see this movie. Grace is 11, and there were some violent scenes that she covered her eyes for. The most grotesque violence occurs predominantly at the beginning of the movie, and it is there to help you realize that the time that Jesus lived was savage. Many victims of the Roman soldiers were not tried before any courts of law. The brutality of the Roman world as shown in the movie helps me to realize that the death that Jesus died was not an immediate death; it was immensely painful from beginning to end, and it was wickedly atrocious. Jesus did not die an easy death for us. Not only was it excruciating for Him, but it was gruesome to behold. The task of crucifixion was repulsive and abhorrent to all the senses and to all who witnessed it.

There were three thoughts that I meditated on after seeing this movie. First of all, the movie helped me to visualize what it might have been like to be an early Christian. The Jews had long been waiting for the Messiah. They had studied the Old Testament prophecies. They were oppressed by the Roman government. They were literally waiting on a Savior that they thought would rescue them from their current situations. However, Jesus came, and most people did not "see" who He was. While expecting a Messiah who would save them from their temporal circumstances, they missed the One who would save them from eternal separation from God. Those early followers of Christ were ostracized from their religious communities. Not only expelled from their “church”, the Romans were suspicious of them as well. The Romans worshiped many gods and prayed to many idols, and this “King of the Jews” vexed them because He was unlike their gods, and they were concerned of rebellion against the government. The disciples ran and hid and were not present at Jesus’s crucifixion (with the exception of John) because they were afraid and with valid reason. The times were tumultuous and filled with anxiety, especially when Jesus’s body was no longer in the tomb. It would be hard for a follower of Christ to endure unless they remained focused on Jesus, the Man they knew and loved. The Man who was no longer dead but alive.

This movie also revealed to me clearly that everything that Jesus did on earth was done to glorify God. Jesus loved us, and His love motivated His actions. Jesus showed His love in the ways that He treated people. Ultimately, Jesus died on the cross in our place, to remove our sins. He was and is the bridge between us and God. He not only showed us the way; He was and is The Way to God. His mission was to bring people to God. He gave up His place in heaven to come to earth to show us the path to God, to die for our sins, all so that we could be in a relationship with God. We can glorify God through Jesus. When the Roman tribune Clavius saw and came to Jesus, Jesus told him to pour out his heart to God. Jesus was the way that Clavius could come to God.

The following passages from the Bible show that Jesus was concerned with bringing glory to God, and that we too are to seek to bring glory only to God.

John 8:50, 54

“I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is One who seeks it, and He is the judge.”

Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the One who glorifies Me.”

John 17:4

“I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do.”

Romans 16:27

To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

2 Peter 1:17

For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

I Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Finally, I believe the most important lesson I have taken from this movie is the reminder that you cannot have an experience with Jesus and come away unchanged. The disciples who lived with Jesus and followed Him before His death and resurrection knew Jesus and loved Him. They were willing to follow Him then. But, after they knew Him as the Son of God, after they saw the self-sacrificing love that He demonstrated for them, they were willing to follow Him anywhere, at any time, giving their complete allegiance to Him, obeying His Words. They left their old jobs and could not help but do what Jesus had asked them to do. Their joy in Him displaced their fear so that the "world" did not have a hold on them any longer. They trusted and depended on Him completely. Even Clavius, the Roman tribune, once he experienced Jesus, could never go back to the man he once was. Jesus had changed his heart.

When I look back and consider the horrific death of Jesus, the way He sought only to glorify God, and finally how the lives of so many have been changed because of Him, I am left in awe again of Him. He deserves my heart and soul, my worship, my praise, all I have. I bow before Him, thanking Him, placing my faith in Him, asking Him to purify my heart in His Name. I want to experience the fullness of Jesus and let Him change my heart.

#risen