Friday, April 6, 2007

Young Adult Ministry (YAM): Good Friday and The Passion of the Christ

Last night we watched The Passion of the Christ for our Young Adult meeting. It was sobering and difficult to watch - as it is every time. In my long term memory I'm always left with the images of violence, which is a shame because there's really much more to it. I shared a couple thoughts during discussion last night, but most people weren't in the mood to talk. One more I wanted to share was the scene near the beginning where Mary and Mary Magdelene are talking - before John comes in. One says, "Why is tonight unlike other nights..." or something like that. The response was, "We used to be slaves..." They were referring to the Exodus - the release of God's people from their bondage in Egypt. This is part of the traditional Passover meal. We did it in the college ministry last year. We focus a ton on the transaction of our sins being placed on Jesus, which we should. But if we take this Exodus imagery, we see there's much more. We are freed from the bondage of sin. It isn't just paid for, we are called to live in our freedom from sin. We have been freed from sin to live well, not just wait for heaven. So this Good Friday, may we remember that God didn't just pay for our sin in Christ, but He released us to live in freedom as well.

How did God speak to you or challenge you last night watching The Passion? If you weren't there, how has God used it in your life in the past?

2 comments:

Suzanne said...

I was struck by a few flashbacks of Jesus' teaching to the disciples at the last supper. If these were the last words Jesus chose to share with his disciples before His death, then he must have truly wanted them to remember, treasure, and follow them.
1. "No servant is greater than his master." --If Jesus, my master, suffered the way he did, who am I to think that I would be called to less?
2. "Love one another"--Am I following this command the way Jesus intended?
3. "The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." --The example of leadership Jesus sets is sobering, seeing that Jesus called Peter and the rest of the disciples to shepherd his flock after his return to heaven.

The Lamplighter said...

I was preparing for a "Why Jesus?" talk so I went to the traditional verses used to share the Gospel. I was struck by how much more there is to the presentation of the Gospel in the verses "in between". For example - Don't just go to Romans 5:8, but try 5:8-11 or John 3:16-21, then follow with John the Baptist's monologue in the next chapter. It was amazing.