My wife and I were watching “The Robe” last night and there was a seemingly insignificant scene in the movie that left a strong message with me that I didn’t expect.
If you haven’t seen the movie, The Robe is about a Roman military tribune, named Marcellus Gallio. In this story, Marcellus is the Roman soldier that nails Jesus to the cross. His slave, Demetrius, absconds with the robe that covered Jesus on his ascent to the mound of skulls. Later, Marcellus believes that this robe leaves a curse upon him and tries to track it down, along with his slave, Demetrius. The story follows Marcellus along his journey and his conversion to Christianity.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen the movie, so I didn’t remember much of it. I liked how the story was told, being about Jesus’s crucifixion, but more of a second hand account of it, from an outsider’s point of view. For most of us Christians, this would have probably been how we would have observed the events if we were alive at the time, being Gentile and not Jewish. So, I enjoyed this approach that the film took.
Anyway, the part of the movie that really stood out for me was in a scene where Marcellus meets up with Simon Peter, Jesus’s disciple. Marcellus is wanting to tell Peter that he desires to follow him, but is hesitant because of who he was and what he did to Jesus. After a bit of waffling on, Marcellus confesses to Peter that he was the one who nailed Jesus to the cross. Peter admits to Marcellus that he already knew who he was, but it didn’t matter. He was welcome to follow him. Marcellus was shocked that Peter was willing to forgive him for what he did to Peter’s own master, Jesus.
Now this is the part that caught me off guard, in a good way. Peter then replies to Marcellus with something like, “Jesus has already forgiven you for what you did to him while on the cross, so how can I do anything less.” For, you see, there’s a scene after Jesus was hoisted up on the cross when Marcellus was standing at the foot of it. He looks up at Jesus and hears him say, “forgive them Father, they know not what they do.” Of course, Marcellus is amazed at this.
And that was the quote that struck a chord with me; “Jesus has already forgiven you for what you’ve done while on the cross.” This can be said the same for each and every one of us… at least those of us who believe and trust in Him. So, when someone asks me for forgiveness for something they might have done against me, how can I do anything less than what Jesus has already done while dying on the cross? It was a very heartfelt scene and some wise words that I wasn’t expecting. A good message, indeed. To quote Jesus directly, “forgive one another as I have forgiven you.” Amen.
The Robe is a pretty good biblical epic movie with a slightly different perspective than other biblical stories. It’s not as “gritty” as the more modern day films, but it’s also not as brutal, which some people may find more palatable. Link to The Robe on Wikipedia
[tag]movies, spiritual[/tag]
Friday, September 8, 2023 - 22:00:50
Thank you for sharing. I had not heard of “The Robe” before, and I will for sure give it a watch.
I appreciated your comment, “…how can I do anything less than what Jesus has already done while dying on the cross?”
Your point was spot on. It also made me think about how we often want justice for everyone else but mercy for ourselves.
James 2:13 seems to be applicable here.