. . . Recent Movies Beg the Question . . .

Several years ago I went through an excellent Bible study called Experiencing God.  The premise of the study was that to serve God, we need to look to see what God is doing and then join Him in doing what He has already set in motion.

A couple of nights ago after seeing the movie, Son of God, I started thinking again about the message in Experiencing God . . .and wondering.  Is God up to something?

I had just seen two other Christian movies as well: Heaven is for Real and God is Not Dead. Both were excellent and both were in theaters all around the country. And they both draw in the unbeliever. They raised questions and provided answers. But they also raised other questions. If heaven is for real, how do I get there? And if God is alive, who is this Jesus?

Even though I knew the answers to those questions, the movies still stirred a hunger in me. I wanted to see Jesus, and so I went to see Son of God.

I expected it to simply be the story of Jesus’ life, a movie similar to other movies about Jesus’ life. And that would have been okay.

But it was different.

The Title Provides the Clue

I left the theater, mulling over what I’d just seen and experienced and why it felt so different, and I realized the clue was in its title. It was not just a story of Jesus’ life. It condensed and arranged the sequence of events from the Gospels into a powerful message to show that this indeed was the Son of God who came to earth to draw sinners to Himself and demonstrate His love.   It showed a Jesus who is not afraid to cause a bit of an upheaval among the Jewish leaders. In fact, this Jesus seemed to intentionally upend the conventional legality of religious thinking in order to reach into people’s hearts so they could truly see God and become reconciled to Him.

All the way through the movie runs the developing thread that this man truly is the Son of God who loves the sinner, a man whose thoughts are higher than ours with an understanding beyond our own, but with very human emotions.  The movie, of course, climaxes in His death and resurrection, followed by His appearance in the flesh to His disciples.

No, He wasn’t just a prophet or a good man.

Because of the power of the presentation, I thought, “This is a movie I’d like to take an unbeliever to see.” For it seems that any nonbeliever leaving the movie almost has to confront the question posed by Josh McDowell in his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict. It’s what McDowell calls a trilemma.” Faced with Jesus’ assertion about Himself, what conclusion will a nonbeliever make about who Jesus is? According to McDowell, as well as C.S. Lewis, a nonbeliever has three choices: Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or truly the Son of God as He claimed to be?  Each person must answer this trilemma for himself.

Answering the Trilemma

C.S. Lewis, who first came up with this challenge, asks: “If Jesus were a liar, why would he die for his claim, when he could easily have avoided such a cruel death with a few choice words? And, if he were a lunatic, how did he engage in intelligent debates with his opponents or handle the stress of his betrayal and crucifixion while continuing to show a deep love for his antagonists? Christ said he was Lord and God. The evidence supports that claim.”  Who is Jesus really?   http://www.whoisjesus-really.com/english/claims.htm

Son of God does not present a Jesus who was merely a good man, a moral teacher, or even a prophet, but forces you to face this trilemma.

And so, again, I ask the question: What is God doing with these three movies?  All in theaters at the same time? All continuing on for several weeks, all drawing in the unbeliever as well as the believer?

Each of the first two movies present their stories in an engaging and down-to-earth way that doesn’t ignore the doubts and questions circulating in the minds of non-believers, but addresses those questions in a forthright manner. Each of these two movies stirs up a hunger to know more about who this Jesus really is.

And I believe Son of God answers that question.

So with these three major Christian movies out in all the theaters, what do you think God is doing?

And how can we join Him?

I’d love to see your comments (and remember when you comment you can choose your identity when you sign in.  If you want to remain anonymous that’s okay.)  But tell me what you think.  And if you’ve seen the movies, I’d love to get your reaction.  Do you agree or disagree?

If you want to read more about the Experiencing God study, here’s the link.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11: 25 – 26