Satan in ‘The Passion of the Christ’

In ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ Satan appears repeatedly. This is not only speculative and unrealistic, but above all unbiblical. First, he appears in the film in a way reminiscent of a horror movie. Wrongly so. Scripture says that Satan is “being transfigured into a messenger of light.”

In Gethsemane, we see a scene in which Satan repeatedly whispers words to Jesus. Nowhere do we read this in Scripture. What we do read is that a messenger from heaven appeared to Him to strengthen Him. The idea, moreover, that Satan would have tried to keep Jesus from being crucified is equally incorrect. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:8:

which not one of the chief men of this eon knows (= God’s hidden wisdom; verse 7), for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory.

The ruler of this eon par excellence is Satan, and of him (not: her, as in the film) we read here, NOT that he tried to prevent the crucifixion, but rather that he was active in it! He was also the one who entered Judas in order to hand Jesus over for that very purpose (John 13:27). Therefore, it is certainly not the case that Satan screamed over his defeat when Jesus died. That is how the film portrays it. But the opposite is true. When Jesus died, Satan’s offensive had, up to that point, proceeded successfully. At least, that is what he thought…. until, on the third day, the stone was rolled away and his weapon (death) was rendered powerless for good.

Yes, if he had known that, he would not have crucified the Lord of glory…

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