The Passion of the Christ: Mel Gibson Details the Last 12 Hours of Jesus' Life

The Passion of The Christ is about the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life.  It starts as Judas is betraying Jesus, turning him over to the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders.  Accused of heresy and crimes, Jesus is beaten and then taken to Pontius Pilate.  Pilate is presented no evidence of any crimes and says that any decision has to be made by King Herod.  When King Herod sees no reason for punishment either, Jesus is taken back to Pilate. 

The crowds grow angry and restless, so Pilate orders Jesus to be scourged.  And scourged he is.  He takes a vicious thrashing at the hands of Roman soldiers, a sequence that lasts quite a while and garners the film’s R rating.  At first, Jesus is beaten and bloodied with sticks.  When he stands up defiantly, the soldiers get out the cat o’ nine tails and whip him unmercifully, reveling in the punishment that they dish out.  We see the lacerations and the huge pieces of flesh ripped from his body.  The make-up department does an excellent job.  

People were gasping and a woman next to me was crying.  The scourge went on for so long and was so graphic that I felt like I was watching Kill Jesus, Vol.1.  Jesus is brought out before the people and to Pilate’s amazement they still want Jesus crucified.  Pilate offers his yearly amnesty to one prisoner of the people’s choice, but the multitude chooses the convicted murderer Barabbas.  To satiate the crowd’s blood lust, Pilate orders Jesus to be crucified.