The True Story of Easter, 2007-11-28
It has always been a tradition in my family to watch "He Is Risen" around Easter time. Even as a young adult, I still enjoy watching the movie. It's perhaps one of the most beautiful, most moving videos you can ever find on the market. The movie first begins with Jesus' crucifixion. We see his friends and his mother grieving for him at the foot of his cross. Later, as a Roman centurion keeps watch with his soldiers, lightning suddenly splits the sky, and there is a terrible earthquake. (This scene used to scare me when I was younger, and it still gives me shivers every now and again.) People in the city are terrified and start running around like mad. Even the animals in the open fields are frightened. Even the Romans, and the Pharisees (the ones responsible for Jesus' arrest and execution) feel the effects of the earthquake. Eventually all settles down, and the centurion remarks that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
We then see how Jesus' disciples are faring. There is an atmosphere of gloom in the room where they are staying. The apostle Peter is feeling especially distressed--considering he had denied Jesus three times shortly before Jesus' death. A small boy (who just so happens to be a son of one of the other apostles) enters the room and announces that Jesus is indeed dead; he saw him die on the cross with his very own eyes. Everyone is devastated. Peter wonders out loud why Jesus didn't save himself, for Jesus had the power to do anything. Despite feeling heartbroken about Jesus' death, the apostles acknowledge one by one that his earthly work was finished, and that he had returned home.
We now see Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator who gave the official order for Jesus to be crucified, sitting quietly on his throne. Joseph of Arimathea (who was a rather good friend of Jesus) comes to him and asks for permission to take Jesus' body and lay it in his own family's tomb. Pilate at first finds it impossible to believe that Jesus is dead already, but then his centurion enters the court and announces that Jesus is officially dead. So Pilate gives Joseph his permission to take the body. Just before Joseph leaves the court, Pilate reminds him that he's not the one responsible for Jesus' death, that he would have saved him if he could. Later, the centurion reminds Pilate that they had killed an innocent man. Pilate answers that he had to do it in order to maintain peace in the land. Joseph, with the help of Nicodemus (another friend of Jesus), wraps Jesus' mortal body well and lays it in the tomb. After bidding one last sad goodbye, the two men work together to seal the tomb with a large stone. They then proceed on their way.
The following day, Caiaphas, a high priest and one of Jesus' greatest enemies, confronts Pilates and demands him to post soldiers at Jesus' tomb, as Jesus' friends might secretly steal the body and claim that he was resurrected and taken to heaven, thereby spreading rebellion. Pilate agrees to send a small band of soldiers to guard the tomb, but then warns Caiaphas to never mention Jesus again. Later, Jesus' apostles hear of their master's tomb being supervised by soldiers. Some of the women who are also followers of Jesus decide to go to the tomb and anoint Jesus' body with special oil, as a token of love and honor and respect for him. The apostles then have a discussion among themselves, and they agree it won't do them any good to just sit around the room and do nothing. They make up their minds that, even though Jesus might be gone, his words and teachings will not die with him.
The next morning (the morning we all call Easter morning), Pilate's soldiers are dozing at the entrance of the tomb, when all of a sudden the earth begins to shake. Then angels from heaven appear. Pilate's soldiers are struck dumb at the sight, and they fall to the ground unconscious. The angels then roll the stone away from the tomb as heartpounding music plays in the background and a choir sings a majestic chorus of "Hallelujah". When the women come to anoint Jesus' body, they are stunned to find the tomb wide open and unoccupied. The angels from heaven appear and tell them that Jesus is risen, and to go tell the other disciples at once. So the women run--not walk, but RUN--back to the others to report what they have seen and heard. Soon after they are gone, Pilate's fallen soldiers return to their senses. They peer inside the tomb and are thunderstruck to discover that the body they were supposed to guard has disappeared. One soldier says that there was nothing they could have done; the gods themselves had taken Jesus. The other soldier doubts Pilate will believe a story like that. Both soldiers agree to meet with old Caiaphas and seek his assistance.
In the meantime, the women have returned to the other apostles, and they announce excitedly that Jesus has risen from the dead. But the apostles believe that someone has stolen Jesus' body, and two of them (Peter, the one who had denied Jesus, and an apostle named John) quickly hurry out the door to find out for themselves. One of the women, Mary Magdalene, follows them. When they get to the tomb, they see that Jesus' body is indeed gone, and all that's left is the cloth that was used to wrap his body. Peter and John are both angry and heartsick, and they quietly walk away together.
Mary Magdalene stays behind and sobs bitterly on the ground just outside the mouth of the tomb. A man in a long white robe approaches her from the woods and asks her in a gentle voice the reason for her weeping. Mary pleads to know where the body of her master is, and the man speaks her name lovingly as he steps forth into the warm sunlight. Mary then realizes it is Jesus himself, alive and whole. Jesus tells her to go back to the apostles, and she obeys.
At first the apostles refuse to believe Mary when she tells them she saw Jesus with her own eyes and heard his voice with her own ears--especially Peter and John. Besides, they wonder, why would Jesus reveal himself to Mary and not to them? But then a glorious light fills the room, and Jesus appears in the midst of them. Everyone, as you can well imagine, is speechless. Jesus invites them to come forward and feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. One by one they all do so, and at last they're convinced it really is their master, and that he really has risen from the dead, and the room is filled with indescribable joy.
We then meet with Caiaphas and the two soldiers who were appointed to guard the tomb. Caiaphas pays the soldiers a considerable amount of money to say to anyone who asks only that Jesus' body was taken while they were asleep. The soldiers are still worried that Pilate will be furious with them for sleeping on duty, but Caiaphas promises to help keep them out of trouble.
Later, we meet with Thomas, one of the apostles who was absent when Jesus revealed his holy presence. He refuses to believe the others when they tell him they saw and touched Jesus. He thinks that they've all lost their minds, and he claims that he will not believe unless he sees Jesus for himself. Jesus appears in the room two seconds later, and Thomas immediately repents of his words. He kneels down at his master's feet in humility, and Jesus praises those who have not seen him and yet believe.
The story of Jesus' resurrection spreads through the land like wildfire. Pilate has a private discussion with his centurion, and criticizes him and his soldiers for not doing their duty properly. The centurion replies that even all the Roman legions could not have prevented Jesus from rising from the dead. This implies that the centurion is somewhat of a believer. Pilate, on the contrary, flat-out refuses to believe that Jesus is alive once again.
In the sea of Galilee, the apostles are on a little fishing trip together, but they always end up with empty nets. They then spot a man on the shoreline, watching them, and the man tells them to cast their nets on the right side of their ship. They do so, and to their amazement, their nets fill to bursting with fish. They realize the man on the shore is none other than Jesus himself. That night, they sit together around a fire and enjoy a hearty supper of fish. Jesus asks Peter if he really loves him, and Peter's answer is a prompt yes. Jesus then tells him that if he really loves him, he must feed his sheep (meaning he must go abroad and teach the gospel to the nations). Jesus stays with his apostles for about forty days, and then the time finally comes for him to leave them and ascend into heaven. Shortly after he disappears into heaven, angels appear and promise the apostles (and everyone else who is present) that Jesus will return again one day. And this is where the movie ends.
This movie is a perfect Easter treat for the whole family. It's beautiful and heartwarming, from the beginning to the very end. I insist you purchase a copy for yourself, and I sincerely hope you'll come to love it and cherish it just as much as I and my family do.
