The Problem With The Passion

A Black Perspective On The Epic Film

I'm terribly disappointed that Mel Gibson, in going to extraordinary lengths to ensure scriptural and historical accuracy, made an obvious and conscious decision to model his Christ after the European reconstruction of Jesus rather than the more accurate (and earliest) artistic interpretations of a man of color. Even a casual look into the historical account of Christ suggests Jesus could not have looked much like Jim Caviezel:

• The region in which Jesus lived: the African American Biblical Scholar Cain Hope Felder makes the case that we should see the Middle East of Jesus' day as a kind of eastern extension of Africa, using archaeological and linguistic evidence to demonstrate the interaction between these peoples in these regions.

• Jesus' General Ancestry: A key element in the narrative of the Hebrew Bible is the Hebrews' move to, sojourn in, and liberation from Egypt. Felder claims that they were a mixed race of Afro-Asiatics. Moses had a Cushite, or Ethiopian wife (Num.12:1); a son of Aaron, the one who begot the priestly line, was Phinehas (Ex.6:25), which in Egyptian means “the Nubian," referring to the area of Sudan or Ethiopia (Jer.38:7).

• Jesus' Genealogy - four Afroasiatic women are mentioned in the Genealogy that opens Matthew's Gospel: Rahab. Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba. (Matt. 1.2-17)

• Jesus' Connection with Egypt: in both Christian and non-Christian texts, Jesus is placed in Egypt during his formative years. Celsus, a Jewish critic of Christianity from the second century, reported the tradition that Jesus learnt his magical powers in Egypt (Origen, Contra Celsum, 1.28). And Matthew's Gospel famously reports the holy family's flight to Egypt (Matthew 2) and announces the return with the scriptural “Out of Egypt I have called my son” (Matt. 2.15). —Jesus Was A Person of Color, Mark Goodacre, Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Birmingham (UK) and Secretary of the British New Testament Society

“Although we deeply love ALL our Christian brethren, my wife & I remain concerned that this 'film-style' Jesus is ALWAYS white or white-based; an all too discomforting point we've discussed among white Christians,” The Reverend Carvin Clements, host of The Word of Truth, KCBR Radio. “Then, as if to show some distinction, the guy that rushes in to help carry the cross is even whiter, which really boiled my blood. There is no question where this man is from in Scripture. Just as there is no question where Jesus is from and what the people REALLY look like in that region.”

Note to Reverend Clements that, despite rumors to the contrary, Jarreth Merz, a little known TV actor who played Simeon, indeed appeared to have Afrosiatic features, which genuinely pleased me and my party. It was the one moment during the film that we went, “Yes. He got that right, at least.” I'd go even farther and wish Gibson had cast Merz in the role of Jesus, as I personally believe Christ likely looked a lot more like Merz than Jim Caviezel. “That being said,” Clements continued, “the truth is well known by those of us who study, and, in spite of our well-founded disappointment with Gibson and the like, my wife, I and some friends will still view this movie. I would not discourage my own people from doing the same. Bottom line is that all folk need to be saved. Dare I say especially ours!”

“What is most disturbing to me is 30 million went into the making of this project and here we have Christ depicted incorrectly again,” Pastor Lee continues. “History, geography and other factual information inform us that the people of that region during that time where a darker skinned people. With hair unlike Kenny G. Some people, especially so-called Christians, will say that doesn't matter, but I say it does matter. Some will say Jesus wasn't any color and I say that person epitomizes ignorance.

“Is the depiction incorrect? What would our Christian Mayor say? What would professor David Parish of the local Fuller Seminary Extension say? What would the Dean of the Nazarene Bible College say? What would the Reverend Jesse Brown, NAACP Chairman of Religious Affairs say? What would the Pastor of Woodmen Valley say?

“The fact of the matter is this is a real issue and some attention should be brought to it. 30 million dollars to destroy 30 years of progress? Why has this detail gone unnoticed by the 'we are one' Christian community? It's not about color,” Pastor Lee concludes, “it is about truth.”

Black Jesus: Catedral Metropolitana Mexico City circ. 1675

Does It Matter?

“Early in my faith, I found it important for Jesus to be a black man,” the Reverend Dr. Henry F. Johnson, Interim Pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church writes, “but now it isn't important. I arrived at this point as a result of education and spiritual growth. While at Nazarene Bible College, I took a class in Black Theology. This theology seemed to have its roots during the Black Power Movement. There are various views of Black Theology but most seem to make Jesus more of a liberator from the oppression from the white man. During the movement, I was right there with that trend of thought with my Afro, clenched fist, and handshake. The problem with this thought is that we make Jesus available only to a certain group of people. This contradicts the Word of God. Matthew 1:21-23 says, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

“Jesus came to save his people from their sin,” Pastor Johnson continues. “This raises the question, who are his people? It is logical to say that the people who sin are the people Jesus came to save. Romans 3:23 says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. This makes me come to the conclusion that salvation is for all people, not just black people.”

“While I believe in scriptural and historical accuracy, I can't also help but wonder if we are making too much of an issue of Jesus' skin tone rather than focusing on His role in our lives,” the Reverend Neil Brown suggests. “I do believe that Jesus is a man of color. But, I also believe Him to be a man for all colors. Before us lies the greatest opportunity to preach the Gospel, and we as the Body have an uproar over something that, although important, does not in any way overshadow the responsibility we have to witness to the sinner. All I'm saying is that this should be a time we collectively put aside our denominations, our differences, our agendas, and our politics to keep the main thing the main thing. We can correct inaccuracy issues later with teaching. This is the time that we must stand united to preach and proclaim further the Kingdom of God.

“Instead of being disappointed in Gibson, let's thank him for his bravery and commitment to his faith and belief in Jesus, that he would risk the rest of his career to make a film like this. He's given us one of the greatest tools to use, movies, coupled with the greatest forum, the media, to get our faith to the masses. We need to be able to address the need of the sinner, who may not realize the brevity and depth of what Jesus has done with His sacrifice. The real question is, are we ready for them? Because no matter what, the sinner will come with real questions about our faith that we must be able to answer and defend if necessary. If we boycott or speak negatively about this picture, we inadvertently showcase our division and not our unity. So then, what makes us any different than the heathen if we can't put aside our issues to put the focus where it really should be? Because, right now, the sinner probably has no idea that Jesus even is a man of color. And for that matter, if Jesus is the God of all creation, and a man for all nations, does his being Indian for the Native American, or Black for the African American, Caucasian for the White American, or even green for Kermit the Frog, really make all the difference? Perhaps Kirk Franklin was right when he said, 'Doesn't matter what color You are, as long as your blood as red.'”

This is the typical response from the typical American Christian. “Does it matter?” “What's the big deal?” “Why do you have to see everything through race?” We're not the people who see everything through race. When I, as a black man, show up for a job interview, shop at a store, step into an elevator, or even just walk down the street, my ethnicity is the very first thing most whites notice about me. Not the color of my eyes or my sterling personality. The first thing most whites notice about me is “black.” A man who robs a 7-Eleven is almost universally a white man. At 2:45 AM this morning two unidentified men robbed and fled the corner store. A black man who robs a store is almost universally a black man. At 2:45 AM this morning two unidentified black men robbed and fled the corner store. A Hispanic man is a Hispanic or Latino man. But a white man is a man. We can certainly be as guilty as any other ethnicity of looking at things in terms of race, but it's not a prism we created.

We are not forcing a black Jesus on anybody. We are not denying anyone their existence, their heritage, their uniqueness as a people. We are certainly not denying anyone a fair hearing on reasonable and empirical evidence. God's love certainly desires to preserve culture, not destroy it. Certainly not destroy it in His name and for His sake, which is what happens when we are given this exasperated hand wave dismissal. With reactions ranging from a benign, head-patting condescension to a snotty eye roll, a great many Christians of all ethnicities continue to refuse to give the matter an even reasonable hearing, clinging steadfastly to their white Jesus and, in large majority, insisting we do the same. And, look it up: I didn't say Jesus was a man of color, this isn't some crazy theory by black revisionists. White people, white scientists, with PhD's and so forth, have said this, have presented evidence to suggest the historical Christ looks nothing like Michelangelo's famous invention of 1505. This isn't a “black” theory or even a “black” thing, it's a science thing. It's an anthropological thing. It's a matter of scientific theory if not historical certainty that, whatever Christ looked like like and whatever His ethnicity, our common image of him is way off, Jim Caviezel notwithstanding.    CONTINUED

The Reasonable Response

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An independent, liberal Catholic magazine has raised a few eyebrows by presenting a “new Jesus for a new millennium” — one who is black! The magazine publisher proudly proclaimed the death of the more popular white, blue-eyed Jesus. Truth is that Jesus was probably unlike either of these pictures. Being a middle-eastern Jew, He most likely had semetic (sic) features.

And those who find a “black Jesus” to be newsworthy only demonstrate how out of touch they are, for there are already portraits of a “black Jesus” in thousands of African-American homes and churches just as there are of most other ethnic groups as well.

The question begs to be asked: Does it matter?

To some it does. There are people see everything in light of skin color. History, politics, religion — it’s all based on outer appearance.

But God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and tells us that we must as well! Those who know Jesus and have experienced His love share that love with all people regardless of how they look, what they wear or the circumstances of their birth and upbringing... the Bible does not give us a physical description of Jesus — perhaps because we are to identify more with who He was and what He did than what He looked like.

As Christians, we are called to break down the walls that our sinful natures have erected. Rather than divide our culture based on ethnicity, we are to demonstrate love and community that brings us together and will cause the world to marvel. We are to be one in Christ (John 17:23, Colossians 3:11)

—Tom Short, The Short Report: Reaching America's Campuses With God's Word, What Color was Jesus? 

Origins Of The Contemporary Christ

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“Europe felt it was necessary to divorce the image of Deity and the Messiah with the image of Africa or Blackness. They rewrote history by suppressing the long history of Black images of the Messiah.”

For example, Pope Julius II commissioned the Italian artist Michelangelo to paint a series of religious pictures of God Almighty, Jesus and his mother Mary, the wise men and other biblical characters for which, argues Mr. Comissiong, he used his family members as models. “And so ... we had almost for the first time the image of the blond-haired, blue eyed Jesus, the image of the European Mary, the Holy Madonna.”

Mr. Comissiong argues that these images have been successfully “foisted” upon the Black race.

The European conceives of his God and Savior in the image of a European, the Chinese in the image of a Chinese and the Indians do the same, and I dare say that the Eskimo probably conceive of their God in an image of an Eskimo,” he says.

He adds, “The only people on the face of this earth who do not conceive of their God in their own image are Black people.” —David Comissiong, Director of the Clement Payne Cultural Center

In Michelangelo's day (the end of the fifteenth and the start of the sixteenth century), Rome was still recovering from years of neglect. Vain and often unscrupulous popes at times advanced Rome and, at other times, took the city a few steps backwards. Ill-gained wealth paid for much of the great art. Proud popes built tombs, churches and cathedrals as memorials to themselves. Michelangelo's patron, Julius, tried to undo some of the art work of his predecessor, a man who apparently at one time attempted to poison Julius.

Michelangelo was petty at times, also often paranoid about his competitors as well as his assistants and patrons. He was also a pious man, a devotee of the rabid monk Savonarola and a man willing to read signs from floods, illness and other natural acts. Much of the time Michelangelo feared for his life from seen and imagined enemies. The human miracle is how the artist triumphed amidst these real problems.

—Review of Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Clip and Stills from The Passion Of The Christ
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