by Lorin Smith
In the midst of the furor that has accompanied the release of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, there is an important theological issue at stake that is surprisingly being overlooked by most Christians and critics of the film. The issue is this. If Jesus Christ is truly God, as Christians claim Him to be, how can He be portrayed in a motion picture when, as God, He expressly forbids the making of images of His person in Exodus 20:4? “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (See Leviticus 19:4;Deuteronomy 5:8; 27:15; Isaiah 40:18-20; 42:8; 2 Corinthians 6:16) Furthermore, if Jesus Christ is at this very moment seated at the right hand of The Father in heaven (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34-36; Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22), then the making of an image of His person is again expressly forbidden. Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines an image as “a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.” In addition, if Jesus is a member of the Godhead as 1 John 5:7 states “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one,” then any material representation of any member of the Godhead is forbidden.
Continue reading →