In Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", an androgynous, Satanic figure, taunts Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. "Do you really believe one man can carry this burden?" Jesus struggles in prayer, beseeching his Holy Father to give him the strength to carry out his mighty task. In a defiant gesture, Jesus stomps the head of a snake, sent by Satan to bite Jesus. This killing of the snake, illustrates Jesus resolve to destroy sin, even if by sacrificing his own life. This scene clearly demonstrates Jesus" agony over what he knows is to come. However, this scene never occurs in the bible. While dramatic and effective to the viewer, this scene, along with several scenes was drawn from Gibson's poetic vision of The Passion. Gibson relied on the combination of the Gospels, and other religious sources, such as the visions of mystic nuns Sister Anne Emmerich and Mary of Agreda. A few scenes are also created by Gibson in order to dramatize The Passion. In comparing Gibson's movie with the Gospels, I have compared and contrasted several of the scenes. .
The Conspiracy against Jesus.
In dealing with the conspiracy against Jesus, Gibson refers to several passages in the Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke, all refer to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. Matthew is the only gospel that refers specifically to the thirty pieces of silver that is given to Judas as payment for his betrayal. (Matthew 26: 14-16) Luke mentions that, "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." (Luke 22: 3) This is the only mention as to what Judas motivation for his betrayal might have been. Gibson does not touch upon this in his movie and leaves it unexplained. .
During the examination by the high priests, Gibson refers to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark frequently. Both Gospels refer to the Sanhedrin and how they were looking for false evidence against Jesus. The Gospels mention Jesus" claim regarding the Temple: "Finally two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.
